Raj Thackeray attacks four parties for squabbling over seats

“Is this how you govern a state? I have heard nothing about scams or issues in the last few days. It has only been about seat sharing,” said Thackeray.

The rally was attended by over 10,000 people. A MNS member said, “We had arranged for 8,000 chairs but the crowd emerged in greater numbers. They enjoy listening to him.”

And people did actually enjoy, with several erupting in applause at frequent jokes that Thackeray subtly passed during his speech.

“Even Ramdas Athavale’s family must have laughed at him for the seat sharing formula he proposed,” Thackeray, in no mood to spare any party, said while attacking the RPI president.

The rally was also attended by candidates standing on MNS ticket from all the assembly pockets of Mumbai. Amongst them, Dr Shubha Raul, ex mayor of Mumbai, was also present.

“MNS has been like a family to me. I wanted to join a party which respected women equally and gave them an opportunity to fight elections,” said Raul, who has recently defected from Shiv Sena to contest on MNS ticket from Dahisar.

The rally, organized by Pravin Darekar, MLA from Magathane, had two dance performances to woo more audience. One of the two was however cancelled when Thackeray arrived to give his speech.
Only aerial fire crackers could keep Thackeray quite for at least 10 minutes when a carton full of crackers was sparked off in his welcome.

When the crackers did not stop bursting, he coughed and looked around at his party members, one of whom promptly stood up and ordered to pour water on the carton to stop the crackers from bursting.

Thackeray, however, quickly regained his composure and started off with a jest at how politicians from different parties were calling him for joining his party. “I called Nitin Gadkari and told him that two of his parcels had landed at my doorstep,” he said to a laughing audience.