Raj Thackeray to go solo in Maharashtra elections, eyes 225-250 seats
July 27,2024
After the recent debacle of the Mahayuti alliance in the Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray has decided to go solo inthe upcoming Assembly elections. At a party meeting held on Thursday in Mumbai, Raj Thackeray said the party was preparing to field candidates in 225â250 seats.
Interestingly, just months ago, Thackeray had extended unconditional support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections. "We are preparing for nearly 225 to 250 seats out of a total of 288 assembly seats in the state," Thackeray said in his address.
Raj Thackeray has also appointed a team of five leaders in each constituency toidentify probable candidates from his party. Additionally, he will start his Maharashtra tour on August 1 to address meetings and gather feedback from party workers.
On the party's decision to contest alone,MNS leader Sandip Deshpande said they cannot wait for a proposal from the Mahayuti alliance. "There does not seem to be a consensus between the constituent parties (BJP, Shiv Sena Shinde camp, and NCP Ajit Pawar camp) on seat sharing yet," said Deshpande.
However, opposition parties pounced on the MNS for changing its political stance.
Anand Dubey, spokesperson of Sena (UBT), said, "Raj Thackeray supported the NDA in Lok Sabha and is now going solo in Vidhan Sabha. He is willing to come to power on his own, despite having only one MLA. He seems to be confused and needs to clarify what he really wants to say."
Meanwhile, Sanjay Shirsat, MLA and spokesperson of Shinde's Shiv Sena, asked the MNS to join the Mahayuti alliance for the Assembly polls. "Seat sharing distribution has not yet been finalised. Once the senior party leaders make a final decision on the seat distribution, they will also propose an offer to MNS," he said.
Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar has expressed his desire to contest the upcoming state polls on 80 to 90 seats, while Shinde's Sena is eyeing nearly 100 seats. The BJP is determined to contest 160 to 170 seats out of 288. In this scenario, MNS has decided to review and contest the maximum number of seats on its own.
