Mumbai:
The BJP has realised that solely the Thackeray identify will get votes in Maharashtra and so they’re making an attempt to “steal a Thackeray,” former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray mentioned in the present day on the assembly between Raj Thackeray and Union minister Amit Shah. The MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) chief, who can be the estranged cousin of Mr Thackeray, was in Delhi in the present day, forward of the Lok Sabha elections. He mentioned he had been “called”.
Talking at a gathering in Nanded district, Uddhav Thackeray mentioned the BJP “knows very well that they don’t get votes in the name of PM Narendra Modi in Maharashtra… People vote here in the name of (Bal) Thackeray”.
“This realisation prompted the BJP to try to steal leaders from outside. First, they stole the photo of Bal Thackeray, but it doesn’t matter,” he mentioned, in what was seen as an arch reference to Eknath Shinde, who’s partnering the BJP.
Mr Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was cut up over what insurgent chief Eknath Shinde — who subsequently turned the Chief Minister of Maharashtra — known as the legacy of occasion founder Bal Thackeray. The chief, who accused Mr Thackeray of deviating from the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray, who was additionally his father, had later credited the BJP with masterminding the cut up.
“Today, they are trying to steal another Thackeray….take it. My people and I are enough,” Uddhav Thackeray then added, disregarding his cousin and the extremely slim area of interest attraction he has.
The MNS, shaped in 2006 after the cousins parted methods and relying on the anti-outsiders plank, has made little headway politically. From 13 meeting seats in 2008, it’s now right down to a single seat, gained in 2019.
Mr Thackeray, whose occasion is a part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi and the INDIA bloc, additionally claimed even Christians and Muslims are snug along with his model of Hindutva.
“The image of Shiv Sena (undivided) was getting sullied when we were with the BJP. But since we severed ties with them, even members of Christian and Muslim communities are saying that they have no issues with our Hindutva ideology,” he added.
Senior MNS chief Bala Nandgaonkar mentioned the talks have been “positive”. The MNS, it’s learnt, needs three seats – South Mumbai, Shirdi and Nashik.