On the occasion of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's birthday, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray unveiled the party's new flag on Thursday and appointed his son Amit Thackeray as a leader in the party.
The event began with Thackeray paying tributes to Bal Thackeray and garlanding a photo of Veer Savarkar along with BR Ambedkar, Probodhankar Thackeray and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
After the party suffered humiliating defeats in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, there were rumours of MNS joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Soon after his launch, Amit's mother Sharmila who was also present at the venue became emotional.
The new saffron flag has Shivaji Maharaj's Rajmudra and was launched at the party's first Maha Adhiveshan at Nesco Centre in Goregaon.
The party also appropriated VD Savarkar, and Raj Thackeray will unveil his party's new agenda at a rally in the evening.
Amit Thackeray's launch into politics comes nearly 10 years after his cousin Aaditya Thackeray was launched by Balasaheb Thackeray.
A lot of people cheered and held posters of Raj Thackeray and the new MNS flag during the event.
Savarkar's portrait could be seen on the stage along with photographs of BR Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule and Prabhodhankar Thackeray.
Raj Thackeray founded the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on March 9, 2006. The party's earlier flag had saffron, blue and green colours.
In the 2009 parliamentary elections, MNS-fielded candidates bagged over a lakh votes each in all the six parliamentary constituencies of Mumbai.
Raj Thackeray's party MNS' growth in Mumbai and Maharashtra came to a standstill during the 2014 elections. In 2014, his party's graph started to see a decline.
During the 2014 elections, Raj announced support to BJP's then Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, as he reportedly wanted to ensure the defeat of Shiv Sena candidates.
However, during the 2019 elections, Raj Thackeray campaigned loud and clear against the BJP and questioned the prime minister about unemployment, demonetisation, economic slowdown amongst others.
In picture: Amit Thackeray holding a sword in his right hand during the felicitation ceremony.
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