Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena placed a full-page advertisement in many newspapers titled Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra, quoting a survey where Shinde is shown as more preferred for the top post than BJP's Devendra Fadnavis.
The ad prompted Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut to call the party Modi-Shah's Shiv Sena. The advertisement carries Sena's bow-and-arrow symbol and images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Shinde. It has no image or photo of Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray, a noticeable departure going by its earlier publicity materials.
For the chief minister's position, 26.1 per cent of the people in Maharashtra desire Eknath Shinde and 23.2 per cent of the people wish to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister, reads the advertisement. Thus, it is undeniable proof that 49.3 per cent of the people in Maharashtra wish to see a strong alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena for their state's leadership, it said.
According to the election surveys, 30.2 per cent of citizens of Maharashtra prefer Bharatiya Janata Party, while 16.2 per cent of citizens prefer the Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde). These numbers show that a total of 46.4 per cent people of Maharashtra trust the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance for the development of the state, the advertisement said.
Responding to the advertisement, Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) said, It was Balasaheb's Shiv Sena earlier, but the advertisement has cleared the air. It has now become Modi-Shah's Shiv Sena. Where is the image or photo of late Balasaheb Thackeray in the advertisement? State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, however, tried to downplay the advertisement.
It is always the election result that decides which party or leader is more acceptable to the voters. Shinde as a cabinet minister was popular earlier and now his acceptance has increased as the chief minister. People of the state have lots of expectations from Fadnavis, Shinde and Modi. As a state-level leader, the people of Maharashtra have given preference to Fadnavis twice, he said.