Lok Sabha polls: Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo and former Maharashtra chief minister, on Tuesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for "stealing another Thackeray" to win elections in the state that has the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats after Uttar Pradesh.
Thackeray's jibe came after a recent meeting between Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Uddhav Thackeray also said the BJP would not get votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Maharashtra.
Addressing a gathering in Nanded, the former Maharashtra CM said: "First, they stole the photo of Bal Thackeray, but it doesn't matter. Today, they are trying to steal another Thackeray. Take it, I and my people are enough."
In 2022, Uddhav Thackeray's party split after Eknath Shinde accused Thackeray of moving away from his father Bal Thackeray's ideology of Hindutva. Shinde was later made the Chief Minister of Maharashtra with the support of the BJP.
"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 (BJP fold)," Uddhav added.
Soon after Uddhav's estranged cousin Raj Thackeray met Amit Shah in Delhi, speculations were rife that the BJP is considering an alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to strengthen the NDA coalition in the upcoming general elections.
The former Maharashtra Chief Minister, whose party Shiv Sena (UBT) is a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the larger opposition INDIA bloc, claimed that the image of the image of the undivided Shiv Sena was "getting sullied when we were with the BJP".
Thackeray added that Christians and Muslims do not have an umbrage with his style 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 said.
Commenting on the potential alliance between the BJP and the MNS, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the two parties are afraid of MVA's success.
The MNS was formed after Raj Thackeray's split from the Shiv Sena in 2006 due to disagreements with cousin Uddhav Thackeray. Despite being a compelling speaker, MNS has not made significant headway politically. From 13 assembly seats in 2008, it is now down to one seat won in 2019.