‘Want Modi to be PM for third term’: Raj Thackeray extends support to ruling alliance

Raj Thackeray’s speech clears the air that the MNS will not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections but will only support the candidates of the ruling alliance.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray addresses party workers during a programme on the occasion of Gudi Padwa in Mumbai. (PTI)

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday said that his party has extended unconditional support to the ruling alliance to ensure Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister for the third term He was speaking at the party’s annual public rally here held on the occasion of Gudhi Padwa.

“The country today needs strong leadership. When I met Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde, I told them that I am not interested in seat adjustment or Rajya Sabha or council. I told them that I have decided to extend unconditional support to the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP only to make Narendra Modi the prime minister for another term,” Thackeray said. He asked his party workers to start preparing for the upcoming polls.

Thackeray’s speech clears the air that the MNS will not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections but will only support the candidates of the ruling alliance. Ever since his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, speculations were rife that the MNS will become part of the BJP-led alliance and contest the general elections.

सध्या जगात सर्वात तरुण देश आपला हिंदुस्थान आहे, ना अमेरिका, ना जपान. एका निर्णायक टप्प्यांवर देश आहे. माझी श्री. नरेंद्र मोदींकडे अपेक्षा आहे कि, भारतीय तरुणाईकडे लक्ष द्या. त्यांच्या अपेक्षा, महत्त्वाकांक्षा समजून घ्या… तसं उमदं वातावरण उभं करा, नव्या कल्पनांना प्रोत्साहन… pic.twitter.com/mPlKiQV19U

— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) April 10, 2024

“India is a country of youngsters, who need opportunities. I expect Narendra Modi to concentrate on youngsters. They are the future. Every country has its time. Our time should not go waste. This election will decide the future of this country,” he said.

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He said that for the last one and half year, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had been asking him to come together. “I wanted to know what exactly they mean. That’s why I called Amit Shah and went to meet him,” he said.

“Let me be clear. The last seat-sharing talk I attended was in 1995. Never after that. That’s not my temperament…then somebody said to fight on a different symbol. That’s not going to happen. There will be no compromise. The only symbol I will fight on, is of MNS,” Thackeray added.

Also Read | BJP keeps pre-poll pact with MNS on hold till seat disputes are resolved

He said that he always had cordial relations with the leaders of BJP, from Gopinath Munde and Pramod Mahajan to Modi.

“My opposition to Modi in 2019 was not personal. Unlike Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, I did not want to become chief minister. I opposed him on issues. You are doing it (opposing Modi) now because your party is split, for your selfish gains,” he said.

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He took a dig at media for making speculations about his meeting with Shah and over reports that he will become the chief of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. “Had I wanted to become the chief, I would have become long back. When I left Shiv Sena, there were 32 MLAs, 6/7 MPs at my house. I told them that I will not work under anyone except Balasaheb Thackeray. Do not believe in such reports. I will remain the president only of MNS,” he said.

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