"I am contesting the elections... I have taken a big plunge. For me this is a big moment and a historic development. Let anybody stand against me, its their right. I am not scared as I am sure you will not let me down," Aaditya said with a tinge of excitement in his voice, at the party's meeting here this evening.
He said that all these years, the Shiv Sena has lot of social service for the benefit of the common masses, and it was on the basis of this record that he was standing for the elections.
"This decision is not for me, but for the people and getting justice to the masses. This is the time for us to to create a 'New Maharashtra'. It is not for me to become the Chief Minister but to fight for the peoples' rights," Aaditya declared amidst rounds of cheers and applause.
Hailing the decision, Sena MP Sanjay Raut set political circles abuzz again by declaring that Aaditya Thackeray was like a 'Suryayan' which will alight on the 6th floor of Mantralaya (where the Maharashtra CM's office is located) at Nariman Point after the elections.
"Due to a technical error, recently, the 'Chandrayan' couldn't land on the moon. But Aaditya is a 'Suryayan' which will land with precision," Raut said, even as the suspense on the alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues.
Significantly, Raut's comments came two days after Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said that he had promised his father, the late Bal Thackeray, that he would one day make a Shiv Sainik the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
On his part, Aaditya, 29, said that since the past 10 years, he had extensively toured the state and "got lot of love from the people" during his recent Jan Ashirwad Yatra.
"During the Yatra, I gauged peoples' opinion on whether or not I should contest the polls, and they urged me to go ahead and take the electoral plunge," he said.
He added that he was interested in politics and social service from his childhood and had observed from close quarters the working of his grandfather, Balasaheb and his father Uddhav.
Present on the momentous occasion were his mother Rashmi, brother Tejas, former Lok Sabha Speaker and ex-Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe, other top leaders and activists.
Uddhav Thackeray, however, was not present as he was involved in finalizing the election tickets distribution for candidates, said a party official.
( With inputs from IANS )