We’ve decided who will be PM from INDIA bloc: Thackeray

Speakers at the press conference, organised at a hotel in Santacruz on the last day of campaigning for the fifth phase, lashed out at the ruling dispensation, saying unlike the INDIA bloc, the BJP did not have any leaders barring Modi who could become prime minister

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that the INDIA bloc had already decided who would become prime minister if the alliance was voted to power. “We have many contenders for the prime minister’s post and have decided who will become PM, but the same need not be disclosed at this juncture,” Thackeray told reporters at a press conference, flanked by leaders from the three main opposition parties in the state, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

Mumbai, India - May 18, 2024: Uddhav Thackeray, Mallikarjun Kharge and Sharad Pawar interact with media during MVA press conference at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, May 18, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Speakers at the press conference, organised at a hotel in Santacruz on the last day of campaigning for the fifth phase, lashed out at the ruling dispensation, saying unlike the INDIA bloc, the BJP did not have any leaders barring Modi who could become prime minister. They also responded to allegations levelled by Modi in campaign rallies over the past few days, including on the Congress poll manifesto and the INDIA bloc’s plans to raze the Ram temple if voted to power.

Referring to Modi’s claims about the INDIA bloc being a divided house with different leaders, different slogans and multiple stakeholders for the prime minster post, Thackeray said, “Modi has at least acknowledged that we have several faces for the post and can give one prime minister every year. But the BJP has only one face, which is not even in the reckoning among the electorate. It cannot even change that face now as the election is on its last legs. This will result in the defeat of the BJP.” Thackeray wondered how many times the BJP would project Modi as the prime minister and said the INDIA bloc was fighting to protect democracy and freedom in the country.

Referring to an interview by JP Nadda, who said the BJP no longer needed support from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as it had become capable of taking care of its own affairs, Thackeray wondered if the BJP was now ready to dump its ideological parent. “Will the BJP ban RSS if it comes back to power? RSS is going to celebrate its centenary next year, but the BJP can now call it nakli (fake) Sangh. The party is determined to finish the organisation that gave birth to it,” he remarked.

Kharge, in his address, responded to Modi’s claims that the Congress would raze the Ram temple if elected to power. “Bulldozing anything is not our culture. The Ram Mandir is constructed by a temple trust and BJP is creating unnecessary confusion to instigate people. The Election Commission should take action against the party. We will complete work on the temple, which has been left incomplete by the current government,” he said. Thackeray too said the INDIA bloc would complete construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, while Pawar chipped in, saying it would be the duty of their government to protect all religious structures regardless of faith.

On Modi’s criticism of the Congress poll manifesto, Kharge said, “The BJP and Modi should make up their mind about what they want to say. First, Modi said our manifesto was a Muslim League manifesto, now he says it is a Maoist manifesto. Instead, he should tell the people of the country if he has fulfilled assurances like minimum support prices for farm produce and jobs for two crore youth every year. You can’t fool all the people all the time.”

Asked about allegations by BJP leaders regarding Pakistani flags and pro-Pakistan slogans being raised at opposition rallies, Thackeray said that the ruling alliance was lying blatantly. “Modi rakes up such lies whenever he misses Nawaz Sharif and the biryani he had during his Pakistan visit. The BJP should first reply about the infiltration by China in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. BJP leader Satya Pal Malik has revealed some startling information about the Pulwama attack. Instead of responding to them, the BJP is shamelessly attacking us,” he said.

Thackeray also took a dig at his cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, saying Modi had neglected him and the demands he had raised completely during Friday’s rally at Shivaji Park. “I do not want to give much importance to a leader whose demands made at a rally were not even acknowledged by Modi in the same rally. I also wonder what the BJP tell north Indians and Jains (whom Raj Thackeray has attacked in the past) about the tie-up with him,” he said.