Another Thackeray likely to enter election fray

MUMBAI: Another Thackeray is expected to throw his hat in the ring in the upcoming assembly elections. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s son, Amit, reportedly expressed his willingness to contest the polls from Mumbai at a meeting of officer-bearers at the party headquarters on Monday.
“In the meeting, Amit Thackeray said he wished to contest the assembly polls,” said a party leader. “He said that all leaders should contest polls.” Amit also said that he was prepared to take up any constituency the party asked him to. The meeting was chaired by MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar in the absence of Raj Thackeray.
Sources in the MNS said that Amit could be fielded from Mahim, Bhandup or Magathane constituencies, where the party has a good presence.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Nandgaonkar said, “Amit expressed a wish to contest and he was ready if the party was okay with it. We have scheduled another meeting this Sunday to assess our preparations at our party headquarters.”
The Thackerays have all taken different paths to power. When Balasaheb Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena, he had made it clear that he would not contest elections though he remained the all-powerful remote control when the party came to power in 1995. When the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi declared Uddhav Thackeray as the chief ministerial candidate, he was elected to the legislative council. His son Aaditya entered electoral politics and was elected as an MLA from Worli. Sources in the Shiv Sena said that Nihar Thackeray, son of the late Bindumadhav Thackeray, the eldest son of Bal Thackeray, also has ambitions to contest the polls. He is a lawyer and is the son-in-law of BJP leader Harshavardhan Patil.
Raj Thackeray is yet to declare the MNS’s full list of candidates. He has already announced Nandgaonkar’s name from the Sewri constituency in Mumbai and a couple more candidates from elsewhere in the state.
The MNS won 13 seats in the 2009 assembly elections and one each in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The party’s electoral performance has been slipping since 2009. After Raj Thackeray announced unconditional support to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, there were rumours that the MNS would join the ruling alliance. However, Thackeray announced that his party would go solo in the assembly polls.