Mumbai, Oct. 16: Bal Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray... now meet Aditya Thackeray, 20-year-old poet turned politician.

Five years after he chose son Uddhav over nephew Raj as his heir, Balasaheb will formally launch grandson Aditya into politics at tomorrow’s Dussehra rally. On a dais showcasing three Thackeray generations together for the first time, Aditya will be appointed head of the Shiv Sena’s newly formed youth wing, the Yuva Sena.

The party will bill the final-year history student of St Xavier’s College as its answer to the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, sources said. Others may see a closer parallel to Varun Gandhi, though, since Aditya has published a book of English poems.

More immediately, the party hopes he will counter the appeal of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Raj Thackeray ahead of the crucial 2012 Mumbai civic polls. The elevation of Aditya’s father, Uddhav, had led to Raj walking out and forming his own outfit, which has hit the Shiv Sena hard by splitting its vote bank.

Aditya had campaigned in the October 2009 Assembly elections but tomorrow’s rally will mark his formal initiation into politics. Hectic preparations are on at Shivaji Park to erect the stage, which will have a hydraulic lift to facilitate Bal Thackeray’s entry and a special podium for Aditya.

If the cartoonist grandfather was once known for his deft brush strokes and sharp political humour apart from his ability to make fiery speeches, Aditya has taken after his father, sharing his love of photography and poetry and his soft-spoken manner.

The former student of Bombay Scottish school had published My Thoughts in Black and White as a 16-year-old. Some of the poems have been made into a Hindi song album, Ummeed (Hope).

Aditya came under the spotlight a few days ago when, on his orders, party student wing Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS) launched a protest against Rohinton Mistry’s Booker-nominated Such a Long Journey and burnt copies.

The BVS claimed the book slighted the Sena and petitioned Mumbai University vice-chancellor Rajan Velukar to drop it from the BA syllabus in the middle of the term. Velukar obliged, shocking the academic community.