"I Will Be Chief of MNS Party Only": Raj Thackeray on Reports of Joining Shinde-led Shiv Sena

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has offered unconditional support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The firebrand leader, who recently met the BJP leadership in Delhi, also appeared to take a dig at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose Shiv Sena party is a BJP ally in the state.

Addressing a rally in Mumbai on Tuesday, Thackeray said, "The MNS is giving unconditional support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA. Now all start and prepare for (Maharashtra) assembly elections."

Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on March 19, sparking speculation of him joining the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. On this speculation, he said that for the last year and a half, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had been urging him to come together.

“I wanted to understand what they meant exactly. That’s why I called Amit Shah and went to meet him,” he said. “Let me be clear. The last seat-sharing talk I attended was in 1995. Never after that. That’s not my temperament... then somebody suggested fighting under a different symbol. That’s not going to happen. There will be no compromise. The only symbol I will fight under is that of MNS,” Thackeray added.

He mentioned that he has always had cordial relations with BJP leaders, from Gopinath Munde and Pramod Mahajan to Modi. “My opposition to Modi in 2019 was not personal. Unlike Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, I did not aspire to become chief minister. I opposed him on issues. You are opposing him now because your party is split, for your selfish gains,” he said.

“If I had wanted to become the chief, I would have done so long ago. When I left Shiv Sena, there were 32 MLAs, 6/7 MPs at my house. I told them that I would not work under anyone except Balasaheb Thackeray. Do not believe such reports. I will remain the president only of MNS,” Raj Thackeray said on reports about him joining the Shiv Sena.