Mumbai: A day after the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the party for not including former union minister Nitin Gadkari in the list.
Speaking at a meeting on Sunday, Thackeray said, “We knew BJP because of Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde. We had family ties with them and Mahajan was called the architect of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Gadkari came later. We didn’t know names like Modi and Shah. He (Gadkari) did a lot of good work by building the Mumbai Pune Expressway and 55 flyovers in Mumbai. He is a staunch BJP man, but his name is not included in the first list of candidates.” He also wondered how Kripashankar Singh, who is accused in a disproportionate assets case, was included in the BJP’s first list of candidates.
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Thackeray said that Maharashtra plays a key role in the formation of any government in Delhi, and the Shiv Sena and the BJP won 42 seats in the previous election, paving the way for an NDA government at the Centre. Claiming that the NDA would not have crossed 250 seats without the seats from Maharashtra, he said, “This time, BJP has given a slogan of Ab ki baar, 400 paar, but I say, Ab ki baar, BJP tadipar (fugitive).”
{{/usCountry}}Thackeray said that Maharashtra plays a key role in the formation of any government in Delhi, and the Shiv Sena and the BJP won 42 seats in the previous election, paving the way for an NDA government at the Centre. Claiming that the NDA would not have crossed 250 seats without the seats from Maharashtra, he said, “This time, BJP has given a slogan of Ab ki baar, 400 paar, but I say, Ab ki baar, BJP tadipar (fugitive).”
{{/usCountry}}Thackeray said though the BJP has all the resources, the public was on his side. “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj used guerilla tactics, but he didn’t ditch any friend. Does the BJP do anything that Shivaji preached? We will cast off the tomb of dictatorship in Maharashtra,” he said. He also warned the BJP against tampering with EVMs, failing which there would be an uprising in the country. “I go amidst people and sense the anger,” he said.
Claiming that he was not against Modi, but against dictatorship, he said, “We want democracy and hence we are giving an alternative. We may have differences (with socialist parties present at the meeting), but we have come together to save democracy.” He also criticised the prime minister for not going to strife torn Manipur, yet finding time to go to Lakshwadeep.