Sena will increase seat tally in state, says Thackeray

AURANGABAD, JULY 13: Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, said he was hopeful that the meeting of the co-ordination committee of the Shiv Sena...

AURANGABAD, JULY 13: Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, said he was hopeful that the meeting of the co-ordination committee of the Shiv Sena-BJP on Wednesday will be able to take a decision on the controversial issue of holding simultaneous elections to the State Assembly. He also ruled out the possibility of any independent MLAs supporting the alliance, participating in the deliberations. He, however, made it clear that some seats would be allocated to independent MLAs in the assembly elections and that a few sitting MPs would have to make way for fresh faces.

Thackeray who is here to attend a convention of his party office bearers from the eight districts of Marathwada, told a gathering of newspersons, that with the Congress now divided, the Shiv Sena-BJP was all set to increase their tally in the state.

The Sena chief said that there was no question of swapping Lok Sabha constituencies between the two parties. “We (Sena and BJP), know the places where we are strong and will contest only from thoseplaces; there will be no changes,” he emphasised.

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On the Dilip Kumar controversy, Thackeray said he was not surprised at the criticism being heaped on him. “It has always been that way. People take time to understand what I state. Now you have every one from Kapil Dev to politicians opposing cricket ties with Pakistan”.

Regarding Dilip Kumar’s statement that he wanted to leave Mumbai, Thackeray said, “Where will he go? At the most he may settle down in Pakistan, so be it”. He wanted the thespian to bear in mind that it was Mumbai, which elevated him to his present status.

Thackeray said he was strongly opposed to the impotent’ stand taken by India to allow a safe passage to the Pakistani army in the Kashmir valley. “Why do you have to show humanity to the people who mutilated the dead bodies of our soldiers?” he asked and added that the orders should have been to kill every Pak soldier sighted anywhere on our side of the LoC.