Pressure on Thackerays to fight BMC polls jointly, MVA tie not must for local elections: Raut

Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) Amid talks about an alliance between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) founded by Raj Thackeray, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, Sanjay Raut, on Thursday made a case for separate alliances at the local level for the upcoming municipal corporation elections and pointed out that there is mounting public pressure on the Thackeray brothers to contest the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls together.

He said that there was no need for Maha Vikas Aghadi or INDIA Bloc-like arrangements for the upcoming BMC elections as “there are different calculations and equations for civic and local bodies, especially municipal corporations, zilla parishads, and nagar panchayats. Sometimes you have to fight separately for that, and sometimes you have to form alliances at the local level.”

He however, clarified that no one has left the Maha Vikas Aghadi and pointed out that there is mounting public pressure for the Thackeray brothers to contest the BMC polls together.

"After the Lok Sabha election results, not a single meeting of the INDIA Bloc was held. Uddhav Thackeray himself has expressed his regret to many leaders on this count. The subject of the INDIA Bloc is national issues in the parliamentary context.

"The Shiv Sena (UBT), the Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress Party are the main players in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. We contested the Assembly elections. None of us has left the Maha Vikas Aghadi, we are still its members and decisions regarding the Maha Vikas Aghadi will be taken together," asserted Raut.

Making a case for separate alliances at the local level for the BMC polls he said, “Now the issue remains of the municipal elections. In this regard, people still have questions in their minds whether Maha Vikas Aghadi or INDIA Bloc will fight the local self-government elections together? Sometimes you have to fight separately for that, and sometimes you have to form alliances at the local level

“When I was asked about a tie up between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS for BMC elections, I simply said that there is public pressure on all of us, which we must have seen on July 5 (at the joint rally attended by the Thackeray brothers against the imposition of Hindi)."

"There is public pressure for the elections to the BMC and other municipal corporations in Maharashtra that Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, should fight the elections together. There will be discussions in this regard in the future,” said Raut.

--IANS

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