The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are expected in October, and discussions between Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and MNS for a formal alliance are underway, Raut added
In July, cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray held a joint rally at Worli Dome in Mumbai. File pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday announced that his party president Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray will join forces for the upcoming elections in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Kalyan-Dombivli civic corporations.
“The Thackeray brothers will contest the municipal corporation elections together and win. The strength of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray is the strength of the unity of the Marathi-speakers. No power can break the iron fist of 'Marathi manus' now,” Raut said.
The announcement follows the joint rally held by the Thackeray cousins at Worli Dome in Mumbai in July, where they garlanded the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Addressing the gathering, Uddhav Thackeray had said, “We have come together to stay together,” signalling a political rapprochement.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are expected in October, and discussions between Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and MNS for a formal alliance are underway, Raut added.
The BJP dismissed Raut’s claims. Maharashtra legislator Pravin Darekar said it was unclear if any talks had taken place between the two parties and called Raut’s claims “guesswork,” while Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan criticised the Sena (UBT) for remembering Marathi-speakers only around elections.
By endorsing ‘swadeshi’, Modi is following Congress’s path: Raut
Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become “a real Congressman” by endorsing 'swadeshi’, noting that it was the Congress which first promoted indigenous manufacturing.
In his Independence Day address, Modi urged citizens and shopkeepers to support a self-reliant India by promoting 'swadeshi’ or indigenous products.
“The slogan of 'swadeshi' given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs to the Congress. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had given this slogan first, and it was also the vision of the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,” Raut told reporters.
“By giving the slogan again today, Modi has followed in the path of Gandhi and Nehru. He has become a real Congressman,” the Sena (UBT) leader added.
Raut further said that at the time of independence, India did not even manufacture a needle, but the nation has made huge strides in the last 78 years, thanks to the leaders who guided the country.
“Some people think that India got freedom in 2014, but the nation has witnessed regress since then,” he remarked.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
