In an open interview with Saamana, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray admitted that intra-party conflicts among Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents and conflicts in seat-sharing became major liabilities during their performance in the last Assembly elections.
He underlined that instead of coordination problems, individual success in the Lok Sabha elections brought in exaggerated egos in the alliance, with each party indulging in separate wins at the cost of the coalition as a whole.
The initial portion of Thackeray's conversation with Saamana executive editor and MP of the party Sanjay Raut was telecast on Saturday. Addressing the Assembly results, he said that the defeats and mistakes have to be accepted with responsibility. "EVM scam, voter rolls, bogus voters are the issues which came into the public platform and are being discussed and there was the effect of Ladki Bahin scheme. However, there were other elements at play as well," he added.
Thackeray noted that although the alliance compromised during the Lok Sabha elections by sacrificing seats they had always won, the shared objective of defeating a constitutional threat brought workers and voters together. "The booth-level workers were active. People voted against the plot to scrap the Constitution in Lok Sabha (polls)," he asserted. But during the Assembly elections, the factionalism re-surfaced. "Whereas in the smaller constituencies with intense competition such as Assembly, the struggle and bickering between the alliance partners started. It gave a wrong message among the voters," Thackeray observed.
He added further, "In Lok Sabha we did not have symbols but were aware who the contestants were.". Unlike it, we had symbols but were not aware of which seats to contest and who were the candidates (in the Assembly polls)." He insisted that until these mistakes are made right, there's no use getting back together. "In the Lok Sabha polls, there was a feeling of belongingness within the alliance but egoism along with selfishness took the place of that scene in the Assembly polls," Thackeray stated.
Retrospecting the MVA's term, Thackeray expressed that their government's achievements, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, did not reach the masses. He claimed that the Thackeray government had worked exceptionally well compared to states such as Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. "Alliances are made prior to elections to meet elections and subsequently form the government.". The MVA had gone the opposite way, with the three parties forming an alliance after elections," he added. He mentioned that even with successful programs such as Shiv Bhojan Thali, minimum support price, law and order measures, and loan waivers, these efforts were overshadowed by other populism campaigns and undue financial pressures at the time of elections.
Thackeray also supported reverting to ballot paper voting, going against the current system, which followed global trends. “The voter has the right to know as to where they voted. There is suspicion in the minds of the voters whether their vote has rightly gone to the candidate they voted for,” he said, backing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of electoral manipulation. He pointed to Bihar’s voting practices, where Hindus are reportedly asked to show identification but Aadhaar is not accepted. "Does it mean the Aadhaar cards are forged? Is it not the NRC (National Register of Citizens) brought into practice?
" he asked.
Conveying concern over the country's political trajectory, Thackeray asserted the government is taking India in the direction of authoritarianism. "They first came up with the slogan of 'one flag, one Constitution, one leader' while abrogating Article 370 in Kashmir, we appreciated it and endorsed it. Now they are claiming, 'one nation one election' and thereafter they will give us 'one nation one language' and then finally they will lead us to 'one party no election'," he cautioned. Targeting his criticism at Shiv Sena's rebellion leader and the present Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Thackeray claimed that Shinde has no option but to unite with the BJP. "He has been grovelling before the Delhi leaders (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah) as such kinds of leaders always exist as parasites," he stated.
Thackeray blamed the Election Commission and central leadership of trying to hijack his party but claimed, "The election commission can freeze our symbol if we have done anything unconstitutional, at times give it to someone else but they cannot hand over the party name, which was given by my father and grandfather to anybody else."
He criticized the BJP's so-called policy of maintaining the country split down the middle on caste, religion, and region to instill fear and hold on to power. "They are walking down the path of Britishers who used to divide and rule, now BJP gives the slogan of Batenge Toh Katenge and divide society," he was quoted as saying, adding that voters are becoming more conscious of this divisive tactic, particularly in the face of broken promises on jobs and industrial development.
In conclusion, Thackeray claimed that the "Thackeray" name represents Marathi Manoos' identity, Maharashtra's soul, and Hindu pride—a pride he says a lot of political players, from Delhi to local societies, have attempted to erase. "They don't want anyone else but themselves in politics," he claimed.
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