Manohar Joshi plans RS route

Days after his defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and that too from an area considered the heartland of the Shiv Sena — the suburbs of c...

Days after his defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and that too from an area considered the heartland of the Shiv Sena — the suburbs of central Mumbai which have a predominantly working class Maharashtrian population, Manohar Joshi appears desperate to make a backdoor entry into Parliament.

Speaker of the dissolved Lok Sabha, Joshi has now set his eyes on the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha scheduled for July. Sena’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray said it was too early to comment on the party’s choice of candidates for the Upper House since the notification for elections is yet to be promulgated, but sources said the former LS Speaker is keen to make a comeback.

‘‘The Sena’s nominees for the Rajya Sabha elections will be chosen by Bal Thackeray. It will be difficult to comment on whether Manohar Joshi will be nominated or otherwise,’’ Uddhav Thackeray said.

Story continues below this ad

RS elections are likely to be held in the first week of July on the expiry of the terms of Satish Pradhan, Pritish Nandy (both Shiv Sena), Pramod Mahajan (BJP), Najma Heptulla (Congress), Suresh Kalmadi and Vijay Darda (independents). A senior leader said Joshi being a trusted aide of Bal Thackeray, was likely to be nominated to the Upper House despite his defeat.

He would not be the first to make a ‘backdoor’ entry. Even Mahajan and Kalmadi had entered the RS after their defeat in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to The Indian Express, Joshi said, ‘‘All such decisions are taken by my mentor Bal Thackeray. If he asks me to contest, then one has no option,’’ Joshi said.

Day after PM Modi’s visit to the town, Manipur’s Churachandpur sees violent protest

India9 hr ago

Protests in Manipur's Churachandpur turned violent as two men were arrested for damaging decorations for PM Modi's visit. The crowd demanded their release and attempted to storm the police station. The men were eventually released after a bail hearing. The incident occurred after a clash between locals and police on Thursday, but the situation had calmed down before Saturday's visit.

View all shorts

Live Blog