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THE SHIV Sena has decided to contest the assembly elections in Goa next year, the party’s parliamentary party leader and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut told The Indian Express Thursday.
“We will field our candidates in at least 25 constituencies,” Raut said. However, he added that “there is no question of a tie-up with the BJP”, the party’s ally at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has placed Raut in charge of Goa and the latter is currently busy reorganising the party in the state. “We will recruit more members and will get more prominent people to join our party,” he said.
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When asked about possible electoral issues for the Sena, Raut said, “The first and the foremost issue for us is the use of Marathi language, which is the mother tongue of a substantial chunk of the population. People who speak Marathi and read Marathi newspapers are not allowed the freedom to choose it as the medium of instruction for their children at the primary level and we would secure this right for them.” The BJP, according to him, had made a promise to this effect, but never bothered to fulfil it.
Raut said the BJP had also promised to close down casinos ahead of the 2012 polls. “However, it conveniently forgot this promise,” he added.
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He also alleged that “Russian and Nigerian drug mafia have taken over large tracts of Goa and even the police are scared of going there.” The government, led by Laxmikant Yashwant Parsekar of the BJP, has ceased to be in command of the state, he said.
In 2012, the BJP had bagged 21 of the 28 seats it contested, polling 35.53 per cent votes.
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