On Wednesday, banners appeared in the area around Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in Dadar, proclaiming Raj Thackrey, the President of Maharashtra Navniram Sena (MNS), as the ‘Future Chief Minister’. This was only hours before the MNS rally was scheduled to take place.
This evening, Raj Thackeray, the estranged cousin of Uddhav Thackeray, the President of Shiv Sena (UBT) and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, will be delivering a speech at a large gathering of people. Thousands of party members from Nashik, Pune, Raigad and parts of Mumbai have already begun to arrive at the rally.
On Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtra New Year, MNS Dadar unit chief Laxam Patil put up banners proclaiming the status of “Hindu Jannayak” and “The Future CM” in the minds of the people of Maharashtra. This serves to set the tone of the meeting.
Posters have been placed across from Shiv Sena Bhavan, which is under the control of Uddhav Thackeray, in an area known as a stronghold of Shiv Sena (UBT).
The sudden appearance of banners by Maharashtra Naviram Sena in the state has sparked political conversation, especially considering that the MNS, which is led by the dynamic speaker Raj Thackrey, the nephew of Balasaheb Thackrey, only has one MLA in the 288-member Assembly.
The addition of Raj Thackeray, 54, to the list of people vying for the position of Chief Minister of Maharashtra has made the race for the office even more competitive and diverse.
Aditya Thackeray’s “future CM” tag was widely seen on posters-banners and was supported by several top NCP leaders, including Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule, as well as leaders from other parties such as the BJP.
It is being speculated in political circles that the recent actions taken by the Maharashtra Naviram Sena are aimed at creating a powerful ‘Hindu Nationalist’ image prior to the upcoming civic election as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections.
Raj Thackrey has been seen having conversations with Shinde and top leaders from BJP; however, he has yet to make any statement about forming an alliance with them.
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