Maharashtra: MNS mulls makeover, plans all-saffron party flag

The new flag may be unveiled on January 23, when the party is planning to hold a special conclave in Mumbai. The date coincides with the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

In the recent Assembly polls, the Raj Thackeray-led party had won only one seat, with Pramod Ratan Patil emerging the winner in Kalyan Rural constituency. It had fielded a total of 101 candidates. The party’s vote share in the state has been in free-fall since 2014, when it had won 13 seats and polled 5.71 per cent of all votes. This share has now come down to 2.3 per cent.

The Shiv Sena’s decision to ally with the Congress-NCP is seen by many MNS leaders as a lifeline for the party to rebrand itself. They believe that some segments of Shiv Sainiks who are troubled by the Sena’s decision, but want to keep their distance from BJP, may instead choose to support MNS.

MNS leaders also said they felt that the BJP could position the MNS as a counterfoil to the Sena. They indicated that they might contemplate joining hands with the BJP.

“In the past, we helped the Shiv Sena, BJP and even Congress-NCP. People also know which parties have helped us in the past. The decision about whom to ally with lies with our party president. However, no party is a perennial enemy,” MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said.

Raj Thackeray, a one-time supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had fallen out with BJP since it came to power in 2014. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the MNS chief was critical of BJP and had campaigned for the Congress-NCP in the state.