Kolhapur/Ratnagiri, Nov 5 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit the campaign trail and pitched the November 20 assembly polls as a battle between those who love Maharashtra and the ones who betray it as he reflected on the 2022 split in the party.
Thackeray slammed his former ally BJP and its partners, saying those helping the national party are “enemies” of Maharashtra as he made a slew of promises to voters, including building a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in every district if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comes to power.
On the first day of his campaigning for the high-stakes November 20 assembly polls, the former CM, whose party is a constituent of the MVA along with the Congress and NCP (SP), addressed two rallies – in Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts.
At his first rally at Radhanagari in Kolhapur district — the constituency of Prakash Abitkar, one of the 40 Shiv Sena MLAs who rebelled against his leadership — he said those who love the state are aligned with the MVA which comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP).
Those helping the BJP, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti bloc, are “enemies” of Maharashtra, Thackeray remarked.
Further attacking his one-time ally, the former CM accused the BJP of “selling” Maharashtra to Gujarat, where it is in power.
In Ratnagiri in the Konkan region, he said projects like oil refineries are coming up in Barsu, a village in the coastal district, but the ones like Tata-Airbus are being taken to BJP-ruled Gujarat.
He vowed that the proposed refinery project will not be allowed to come up in the state after the MVA comes to power.
The multi-billion dollar refinery project was to come up in Nanar, also in Ratnagiri district, but the site was moved to Barsu by the MVA government under Thackeray (who served as CM from November 2019 to June 2022) after stiff opposition from local residents.
At the Radhanagri gathering, Thackeray claimed his government was toppled in June 2022 because he did not allow the BJP to harm Maharashtra and said not a single industrial project moved out of the state when the MVA was in office under his leadership.
In Ratnagiri, he remarked that Delhi (referring to BJP-led central government) did not dare to cast an evil eye on Maharashtra when he was the CM.
“(Maharashtra assembly poll) is a fight between those who love the state and the ones who betray it,” Thackeray told the gathering in Kolhapur.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) president started his first speech with the sentence ‘Jamlelya Majhya Tamam Maharashtra Premi Bandhavanu, Matanu ani Baghinino’ (My Maharashtra loving brothers, mothers and sisters), seeking to position the electoral battle as a fight between “the ones who love the state and those who work against it”.
In his campaign speeches during the Lok Sabha polls in April-May, he would start his address with the sentence ‘My Maharashtra loving brothers, mothers and sisters’. It was contrary to his regular Hindutva-rooted ‘My Hindu brothers, mothers and sisters’ opening remarks at rallies.
Referring to petitions filed by his party in the Supreme Court seeking disqualifications of rebel Sena MLAs, Thackeray emphasised he has still not got justice from the top judiciary and hence has come to people’s court for justice.
He urged the SC to give a judgement on the petition regarding the name and symbol of the Shiv Sena on November 8. Thackeray said he will not accept if the name of Shiv Sena is given to someone else.
Attacking the Eknath Shinde-led dispensation, Thackeray alleged the government works on “commission”.
Talking about the Mahayuti government’s flagship scheme for poor women, Ladki Bahin Yojana, Thackeray said police were not even ready to register the complaint of the mother of the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a school in Badlapur in Thane district in August.
He said while the government is implementing the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which eligible women get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, the inflation is spiralling, making essential commodities costly for common citizens.
Thackeray promised that if the MVA comes to power, every district in Maharashtra will have a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The former CM said if possible, he will also build a temple dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king in Surat in present-day Gujarat, a city linked to Shivaji Maharaj’s military campaign.
Thackeray said currently education for female students is free in the state, but a MVA government will extend this benefit to male pupils, too.
The former CM said all-female police stations will be established in the state with an aim to provide a safe and accessible environment for women to file complaints.
He reiterated that the multi-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai, being executed by the Adani Group, will be scrapped if the MVA comes to power.
Thackeray assured payment of minimum support price (MSP) to farmers for their crops under a MVA dispensation.
The former CM said while he is being accused of prompting dynastic politics, the BJP as well its ally Shiv Sena have fielded candidates from political families.
BJP’s Sindhudurg Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane’s son is contesting assembly polls from Kankavli, while his elder son is in the fray from neighbouring Kudal as the Shiv Sena candidate.
Similarly, Industries Minister Uday Samant is the Sena candidate from the Ratnagiri constituency, while his brother Kiran is contesting from adjoining Rajapur.
Polling for the 288-member assembly will take place on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later. PTI PR GK RSY
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