RAJ THACKERAY SET TO GO SOLO IN BMC POLLS?

Mumbai: In his first address to party workers after recovering from his hip bone surgery, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday gave first indications that he could contest the elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations on his own on all 227 seats. The BJP has been trying to woo the MNS as it tries to wrest the richest municipal corporation from the Shiv Sena, which ruled the BMC for 25 years, and a multi-cornered fight could just help them trounce the Sena. Hitherto indisposed due to his surgery, Thackeray primarily trained his guns on cousin Uddhav Thackeray, and the Eknath Shinde faction, but was careful not to criticize the BJP directly. In fact, he supported the BJP’s claims that Shiv Sena was never promised chief ministership after two and half years in power.

Recalling how the Shiv Sena and BJP would discuss alliances and power sharing when Balasaheb Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan were spearheading the saffron coalition, he said, “Meetings would happen at Centaur hotel or at Matoshree. I would be present at these meetings. Balasaheb, Manohar Joshi, Munde, Mahajan were clear about one thing. The party with the largest number of MLAs gets the chief ministership. Then, how can you ask for the reins when the Sena had fewer MLAs than the BJP? Then it is said a commitment was made within four walls between two people,” without naming his cousin. Uddhav had claimed that in a closed-door one-on-one meeting, BJP’s Amit Shah had promised that after being BJP CM for two and half years, Shiv Sena would be given a shot at CM’s post—a claim denied by the BJP. He added that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi told rallies that Devendra Fadnavis would be CM, Uddhav Thackeray would be on the dais. “Why didn’t you take an exception then? Why didn’t you call them then? You remember only after SenaBJP got the mandate? Sena-BJP voters rejected NCP-Congress and voted for you, and you formed a government with them?” he asked.