Bal Thackeray's Grandson Nihar To Campaign For Shinde Faction In Andheri Byelection & BMC Polls
The BJP, backed by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, has pitted Murji Patel against the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party's Rutuja Latke in the November 3 byelection.
New Delhi: Nihar Thackeray, the grandson of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray, has said that he supports the Eknath Shinde faction of the party and is ready to campaign for the upcoming Andheri East Assembly byelection as well as the Mumbai civic body polls.
On being asked whether he would participate in electoral politics, Nihar said, "I have not really given it a serious thought...I am a lawyer by profession. But not taking that decision does not mean I will never do it,” as quoted by news agency PTI.
The BJP, backed by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, has pitted Murji Patel against the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party's Rutuja Latke in the November 3 byelection. It will be the first major election in the state after Shinde's rebellion wherein his faction parted ways from the previous Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray in June this year.
Nihar, the son of Bindumadhav Thackeray, Bal Thackeray's eldest son is also part of Chief Minister Shinde's legal team in the battle in the Supreme Court to decide which is the 'real' Shiv Sena.
Shinde was taking forward the legacy of his late grandfather and hence he supported the chief minister, Nihar told PTI in an interview.
During the Dussehra rally organised separately by both the factions, when Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya addressed a gathering at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai, Nihar Thackeray was sharing the stage with Shinde, who addressed a rally at MMRDA ground.
Nihar declined to comment on the fissures in the family but said Bal Thackeray was the glue that kept it together. "If required, I will keep myself available for the bypoll and BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) polls. I will continue to extend support to Shinde ji," PTI quoted Nihar as saying.
"I am not saying it's a complete no. I have just not given it a complete thought yet," he said. "Ever since Balasaheb passed away, I have not been an active part of the Shiv Sena or politics for whatever reasons. It did not happen," Nihar Thackeray added.
"Had there been an option, I would have definitely liked to be a part of it. It (the party) is something which my grandfather started. For whatever reasons, I was not part of it," he stated without elaborating on why he did not find any role in the Sena after Uddhav Thackeray took over. Asked about his association with Shinde, he said he met the Chief Minister for the first time in July this year.
"Balasaheb had clearly said that he will never join hands with the Congress under any circumstances. For whatever reasons, things happened and Maha Vikas Aghadi government (of the Sena, Congress and NCP) came to power, and then...Shinde saheb decided to walk away," Nihar Thackeray said, as reported by PTI.
The government which had been given the mandate to rule (in 2019) is now in power, he added. The Shiv Sena and the BJP had contested the 2019 Assembly elections together but fell out after the results.
(With PTI Inputs)
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