Mumbai: The Shiv Sena sought to know Sunday why top BJP leaders conducted so many rallies for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis feels there is no Opposition left in the fray to challenge his party-led alliance.
In a column in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, party’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut also claimed that the poll plunge of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya will change the state’s ‘political dynamics’ in coming years.
Hinting at the waning strength of the opposition parties in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis recently said there was no ‘wrestler’ left in the fray who can challenge the BJP-led alliance.
“The chief minister has been asserting that the opposition ‘does not exist’ any more in the poll campaign. The question then arises about the motive behind some 10 rallies of (Prime Minister) Modi, 30 of (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah, and Fadnavis himself holding 100 rallies across Maharashtra,” Sanjay Raut said in his column ‘RokhThok’.
The same question is being raised by NCP chief Sharad Pawar as well, which is not wrong. Though Fadnavis said he is not facing any opposition challenge, in reality there is electoral challenge, which forced the BJP leaders to hold so many rallies,” Raut, the Marathi daily’s executive editor added.
Raut also pointed out that Aaditya Thackeray’s foray into elections was going to change the ‘political dynamics’ of Maharashtra in the coming years.
“He (Aaditya) is contesting elections not to just sit in the Assembly, but the new generation wants him to lead the state,” claimed Raut.
Aaditya Thackeray, the first member from his family to enter the electoral battle, is contesting the polls from Mumbai’s Worli Assembly constituency.
Raut said issues like the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and demand for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya were for the first time raised during Maharashtra polls campaign, a move opposed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
The Sena, however, spoke about issues of the common man, he pointed out.
“The Shiv Sena has promised a full meal at Rs 10 for the common man and medical check-up at rupees one. There should have been someone in the campaign to speak on issues of Maharashtra and the common man. What Fadnavis has done for the state in last five years is going to be tested tomorrow,” stated Raut.
PTI
