Mumbai:
Ending days of speculation, Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or MNS has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections, beginning April 7. The MNS chief today announced seven candidates - six of whom will be contesting against the Shiv Sena, one against the BJP. However, Mr Thackeray, himself, would not run for Parliament.
The MNS' decision to contest polls comes despite former BJP president Nitin Gadkari's efforts to persuade them to stay away from the 2014 contest, as it will divide the anti-Congress-NCP votes.
But Mr Thackeray has made it clear that his main target is his cousin, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, and not the BJP or its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
"We will support Narendra Modi for prime minister. All my MPs will support him as we want a strong PM," Mr Thackeray said today.
"We are grateful to what Raj Thackeray said but there is an alliance of BJP-Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. We have a strong alliance, RPI, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana... all of us will fight the election together. We will support each other. I request Raj Thackeray to think about giving support to other NDA contenders as well," Mr Gadkari said.
In the last Lok sabha elections, the MNS had contested 12 seats, polling more than one lakh votes in each constituency. They did not win any seat, but played spoilsport in as many as eight seats which could have gone the BJP-Sena way.
Mr Thackeray's decision is clearly music to the ears of the ruling Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra.
"There is a strong alliance of Congress and NCP. We are doing our work together," said the Congress' Rajiv Shukla.
"Narendra Modi and BJP is getting very impatient to get the seat of PM. They are ready to ally with any one. You know Raj Thackeray does a politics which is against the North Indians," said the NCP's Tariq Anwar.
The MNS' announcement has changed the political calculations and equations of all political parties in Maharashtra. While the BJP and the Congress are not too happy, the Congress and the NCP are hoping it will be a repeat of 2009.