Ahead of Assembly Elections in Maharashtra due to be held in 2024, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray made it clear that he will not accept the formula of individual with maximum number of seats getting the Chief Ministerial position.
“We had this formula during the 25 years with the BJP and we ended up bringing each others candidates down because we both didn’t want the other party to have their CM candidate. What is the purpose of such an alliance?” Thackeray asked.
He made these remarks during a joint MVA leaders and functionary event in Mumbai where Sharad Pawar and Congress leaders were present.
Thackery made it clear that the coalition needs to decide its CM candidate before preparing for the upcoming elections.
“Let’s decide the CM face of Maha Vikas Aghadi, I will support it. Let Congress, NCP-SCP suggest their CM face, I will support it because we have to work for the betterment of Maharashtra and I want to give a reply to these ’50 khokas’ & ‘gaddar’ that people want us, not you,” Thackeray said.
“Uddhav Thackeray will back any candidate announced by MVA. I don’t have the feeling that I am fighting for myself but for the rights of Maharashtra,” Thackeray added.
Thackeray asked the MVA cadres to rise above self-interest and fight for the sake of protecting Maharashtra’s pride and interest. He also urged them to be the ambassadors of the opposition alliance in the state.
The 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s current term concludes in October 2024. The upcoming Maharashtra election will feature a two-way contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition—comprising the UBT Sena, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Congress—and the Maha Yuti Alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and NCP (Ajit Pawar). The BJP and undivided Shiv Sena had formed the government in 2019, but the coalition later fractured.
