Mumbai: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will contest the October 21 state assembly elections, party president Raj Thackeray announced here on Monday.
"We will contest the Assembly elections and shall also win... The candidates and the seats on which we shall contest will be announced in the next couple of days," Thackeray said amid thunderous applause at a meeting of the party officials.
Though the exact number of seats MNS will contest is not clear yet, the party sources indicated that it may be around 125 seats.
There is no clarity on whether the party will enter into any tie-ups with other parties or alliances, though party leaders claim they would win sufficient numbers to emerge as 'king-maker' in case the other two main alliances fail to get the majority.
It may be recalled that Raj Thackeray shot to fame in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when he attacked the ruling BJP-led NDA government at the Centre with his famous "Laav Re Video" at his public meetings even as his party was not contesting the election.
Later, in August, he was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in an alleged case of financial irregularities in one of his business ventures, along with his other partners.
With the MNS' entry into the poll fray, the state electorate has a plateful of choices before them besides the two main ruling and opposition fronts.
There is the ruling combine of Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena, whose formal partnership is likely to be announced shortly, the Opposition Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance, the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, besides other local and state parties, or pressure groups like the Vidarbha Sangharsh Samiti.
Raj Thackeray's political profile:
- Raj Thackeray is the nephew of Bal Thackeray
- His parents were Shrikant Thackeray and Kunda Thackeray
- In 2006, Raj left Shiv Sena after Bal Thackeray chose Uddhav as his heir
- Later Raj Thackeray formed Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on 9yh March 2019
- In July 2008, MNS created panic among several shop owners and threatened them to use Marathi signboards
- In October 2008, Thackeray issued a notice against Jet Airways that he would not allow any Jet Airways plane to take off from any airport in Maharashtra
- In 2009, Raj Thackeray contested general election and 13 MNS members won Rajya Sabha seats
- In 2009 BMC election, MNS managed 27 seats in Mumbai. Also, MNS secured majority in Nashik
- Raj demanded that all telecom companies operating in Maharashtra start providing the service in Marathi also and set a deadline of 27 February 2010
- In 2014 General Election, Raj Thackeray was defeated badly, MNS managed to win only one seat
- In August 2018, Thackeray urged all the filmmakers to avoid Pakistani actor
- In September 2018, a mob of MNS workers assaulted a man because of his Facebook post criticising a cartoon drawn by Raj Thackeray
- In May 2019, Thackeray slammed Modi for claming Rajiv Gandhi "clean"
- In August 2019, Thackeray was questioned by ED over money laundering case
- MNS and Thackeray are all set to contest in upcoming State Election
Also read: Air Marshal RKS Bhaduria takes over as new IAF chief from BS Dhanao
