Amcha rajgad is no Saamna yet but Dilip Lande hopes it will get there eventually. A Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader in-charge of Aurangabad district, Lande is the executive editor of the Marathi weekly Amcha Rajgad, launched late last month to help improve internal communication in Raj Thackeray’s party in the same way Saamna serves the purpose for the Shiv Sena.

The eight-page weekly has articles on the activities of party workers, messages from leaders, editorial commentary on the political scenario and events in Maharashtra and tidbits from the entertainment industry. Published in tabloid size, the masthead includes a sword and fort in dark pink colour. It is being circulated locally in Mumbai to start with and will eventually be distributed across the state. The initial print-order is 1,000 copies and although it has a published price of Rs 2, the paper is being distributed free for now.

“As of now, there is no newsletter or mouthpiece of the party,” Lande told Newsline. “The idea behind starting this newspaper is to spread the word of the work being done and the ideals of the party. We write about all the work that is being done in our locality and about issues regarding which citizens should be alert.” Though a well-known caricaturist and contributor to various newspapers, Raj Thackeray has so far restricted himself to congratulating Lande and his colleagues in their endeavour in the newspaper which he launched.

In the inaugural edition, Thackeray wrote that he was happy that partymen were following in the path of Balshastri Jambhekar who started India’s first bilingual newspaper, Darpan, in the pre-Independence era. “I congratulate you on taking on this endeavour which will continue the tradition and safeguard the Marathi culture in Maharasthra. Marathi population in Maharashtra has forgotten tradition, literature and art. The newspaper should work towards preserving the tradition. This is a very difficult task,” Thackeray wrote.

The first edition is dominated by photographs of various events in Kurla organised by party workers. The second edition, however, is more like a a full-fledged newspaper, with an editorial, news from the entertainment industry, reports on a speech by Thackeray and an agitation launched against the dilapidated condition of Vijaydurg fort, a sea-fort built by Shivaji. “There are always questions about the party’s work and about Rajsaheb’s views on various issues. Through the newspaper, the idea is to take this information to the people,” says Lande.