Ahead of the Mumbai civic polls the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Monday announced an alliance.
The announcement coincided with the birth anniversary celebrations of Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray.
"Now there are some bad practices in politics and to eradicate them, the inheritors of these two leaders, and people around them, have come together to protect the country's interest. We are coming together to ensure democracy is alive," Thackeray said.
He also challenged the ruling alliance of the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction)-BJP faction. "I want to challenge the traitors (Eknath Shinde faction) to conduct elections. If they (Shiv-Sena's Shinde faction and the BJP) have guts then they should declare elections," Ex-Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Thackeray said that his Shiv Sena is baselessy accused of forsaking the 'Hindutva' ideology. "When RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat went to a masjid, did he leave Hindutva? When BJP formed an alliance with PDP, did they leave Hindutva? Whatever they do is right and when we do something, we leave Hindutva? That's not right," Thackeray said.
Speaking about the alliance, Ambedkar said that at present, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the VBA were in alliance, but "hoped other constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party) would also join". Thackeray said there was no opposition from the Congress and NCP to the VBA in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
The Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation polls and other civic body elections are likely to be conducted in April-May this year.
(With inputs from PTI.)