Will take up Hindutva if needed: Uddhav

Pointing to the BJP winning three seats in Sangli district in the wake of the recent communal riots in Miraj,Thackeray said the party would pursue Hindutva wherever necessary. However,Thackeray,whose supporters claim he is a man who can secularise the party by reaching out to groups like north Indians,added that it did not mean that Hindutva would become the foundation of the party.

With slogan shouting supporters in tow,Thackeray,who projected himself in an aggressive manner,admitted that they had not secured expected success but said he did not think that the Sena had been defeated. I do not accept that the Shiv Sena has been defeatedWe were fighting for the people to see good days, he said,adding that they were not fighting for individual gains. Who should be accountable for the defeat is not a question, he added.

Stressing that the results had come as a surprise to them and even the Congress-NCP,Thackeray,while responding to questions about likely changes in the party organisation,added that changes would take place wherever necessary.

Balasaheb put forth his sorrow. That regret is there, said Thackeray,while responding to questions on an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna,which blamed Maharashtrians for the partys rout. Hasnt whatever I said come true? Hasnt the Congress government been elected? said Thackeray,when asked about the Senas campaign about a vote for the MNS being a vote for the Congress-NCP.

I am more saddened by the saffron flag coming down, he said about the partys rout in its traditional strongholds of Sewri and Mahim,where the MNS won,and added that the tussle between him and cousin Raj Thackerays MNS was not a domestic quarrel but a feud between two political parties.

Taking moral responsibility for the defeat on grounds that he was the party executive president,Thackeray pointed to the waning influence of Industries Minister Narayan Rane in the Konkan and without naming Rane,Raj or the MNS,claimed that the MNS factor would also not be relevant after two years.

Now,Raj to expand party base in rural areas

Buoyed by the decent debut of his party in the just-concluded Assembly elections,Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray is preparing to expand his party base across Maharashtra,especially in the rural areas,through its party candidates.

Having toured extensively for the Assembly elections and created faces for the party across the state,Raj will now undertake tours to make inroads into the rural areas as his success so far has been limited only to the urban areas,said sources. He had said that with 45 per cent urbanization in the state there is hardly any significant divide between urban and rural Maharashtra.

Later this week,Raj will hold a meeting with all 13 party MLAs and the party candidates who lost to discuss the party8217;s future and prepare a strategy about the issues to be raised in the Assembly,said party leaders. The meeting would also decide on the party leader in the House.

Four-time MLA Bala Nandgaonkar is the front-runner to head the MLAs in the Assembly.