Will the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena contest the ensuing assembly polls?

MNS chief Raj Thackeray compounded the confusion, claiming the economy was in bad shape and the time has come to save the resources.

Will the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) contest the ensuing assembly polls?

MNS chief Raj Thackeray compounded the confusion, claiming the economy was in bad shape and the time has come to save the resources. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

On Friday, a section of MNS leaders said the party should not contest the upcoming polls. Their contention? The MNS was in bad shape compared to the stronger BJP and Shiv Sena, and would face a washout. Moreover, the Congress-NCP combine, with whom the party could join hands, was completely demoralised owing to large-scale defections.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray compounded the confusion, claiming the economy was in bad shape and the time has come to save the resources. The leaders had gathered at Krishna Kunj, Thackeray’s residence at Shivaji Park. “We neither have the money nor the muscle power needed to fight the elections. Even our initial plan of forming a joint opposition front is leading us nowhere, as both the Congress and the NCP are facing huge problems, with their top leaders deserting them,” said a leader who attended the meet. He said NCP leader Sharad Pawar, who was one of the architects of opposition unity, is also seen to be completely shaken. He said the MNS has not been able to recover from the 2014 debacle where it won only one seat.

However, some leaders wanted to contest saying it will demoralise the workers. “We are a political party and will lose workers if we don’t take part in the electoral process. We just cannot tell them to help other parties like the Lok Sabha, where we worked for the Congress-NCP candidates,” said another leader.

MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said it was ultimately Thackeray who will take the final call. “The meeting was conducted to gather views of our leaders. However, Rajsaheb will take the appropriate decision and we will all abide by it,” said Nandgaonkar.