To Uddhav’s three-wheeler jibe, Thane auto drivers gather in show of support to Shinde

“Yes, we are proud, our rickshawala (auto driver) became the chief minister,” the banner in Marathi read. The banner was put up in front of the Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC's) headquarters with about 100 auto drivers taking part in a gathering.

Auto-rickshaw drivers in Maharashtra's Thane district put up a banner of Eknath Shinde in front of the civic body headquarters on Thursday to extend their support towards the state's new chief minister.

The banner was put up in front of the Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC's) headquarters. (Praful Gangurde/HT photo)

Their show of support came in the wake of a comment made by Shiv Sena supremo and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding Shinde’s initial days when he reportedly drove a three-wheeler to earn a living.

“Yes, we are proud, our rickshawala (auto driver) became the chief minister,” the banner in Marathi read. The banner was put up in front of the Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC's) headquarters with about 100 auto drivers taking part in a gathering. The drivers also stuck stickers with the above slogan on their autos.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Satish Gavkar, 40, an auto driver said, “We are proud that Eknath Shinde is the chief minister of the state. Since he has been an auto driver he knows the problems we face. The fuel prices are high and hopefully, he will make efforts to reduce them.”

On Wednesday, Shinde hit back saying an autorickshaw has now outpaced a Mercedes car, in an apparent reference to his rebellion leading to the fall of Thackarey’s government. "Autorickshaw outpaced Mercedes (car)... because this is a government of the common man," Shinde tweeted in Marathi.

The ‘Mercedes’ counter came as Thackeray, who after resigning as the chief minister, drove a Mercedes to reach Raj Bhavan and submit his resignation to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Earlier, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had taken a dig at Thackeray's son Aaditya calling him a "Mercedes baby" who cannot appreciate the struggle of 'Karsevaks' who took part in the agitation for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the early 1990s.