Eye On BMC Elections, Uddhav Thackeray Fires At PM Narendra Modi: 'Have Your Kundli Too'

MUMBAI: His eye firmly set on the 227-seat Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections later this month, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray picked on PM Narendra Modi's warning to Congress to "behave" and targeted the BJP, saying he too had "horoscopes" of the Prime Minister and BJP president Amit Shah.

"Everybody who is born has a janam patrika (horoscope). The PM must not forget this. Even we have his and Amit Shah's janam kundli," Mr Thackrey told reporters on Saturday, launching a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP's two top leaders who have been pushing to deepening the party's base in Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai.

The Shiv Sena continues to be an alliance partner at the centre. But it had taken offence to the BJP insisting on a majority share of the tickets in the civic polls slated for February 21. Last month, it declared the party would not fight the elections in alliance with the BJP. It had fought the 2014 assembly elections alone too, but has been playing second fiddle to the BJP in the Devendra Fadnavis government.

For the Shiv Sena, the BMC election is a battle for survival. It has controlled the municipal body - that had a Rs 37,000 crore-budget this year - for 20 years and is desperate to retain control. This is the first time since 1997 that the Shiv Sena doesn't have a pre-poll alliance for the civil polls with the BJP that too has been calling the Sena names. This week, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called Sena "a party of criminals".

Mr Thackrey gave it back to the BJP, taking jibes at the PM for mocking and ridiculing other parties and called BJP leaders "liars, who are not interested in anything but grabbing power". He claimed this was why he decided to break the alliance with the BJP for the civic polls and pledged to fight all elections independently.

But if he felt so strongly about BJP leadership, why is his party still in alliance with the BJP at the centre and Maharashtra? "Have they asked us to get out? If they don't like us, they can leave. But they are stuck," he said. But Mr Thackrey left the door open, depending how the Sena performs in the municipal polls. "We will decide our future course after the civic elections here," he retorted.

(With inputs from IANS)