Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora – the Eknath Shinde faction’s pick to try and win back the Worli Assembly seat from Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena bloc – played down any talk of a ‘personal’ contest with Aaditya Thackeray, the former Chief Minister’s son, who claimed an imperious win in the 2019 election.
He did, however, criticise Aaditya Thackeray and his party’s failure to develop Worli, declaring the people of the south Mumbai neighbourhood were “tired of speed breaker politics” hampering growth.
Mr Deora, 47, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Sena weeks after ending his family’s 55-year relationship with the Congress. On Sunday he was named the party’s Worli candidate to set up a blockbuster clash against the younger Thackeray.
“It is not a personal battle… I’ve known Aaditya Thackeray for a long time. But the people of Mumbai… of Maharashtra… had high expectations of him when he came into politics five years ago.”
“But now I think people are tired of speed breaker politics. The people want Maharashtra to move ahead… that is the objective,” Mr Deora told NDTV, criticising Aaditya Thackeray and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance that was in power till the rebellion of June 2022.
That development is visible across the rest of Mumbai, thanks to the efforts of the Shinde government, Mr Deora told NDTV. “… whether you are an ordinary woman or someone using public transport, or someone commuting by car… there is a huge spirt in infrastructure development…”
Shinde Sena leader Milind Deora spoke to NDTV,
The former Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai (South), a seat he won twice with the Congress and which his father, Murli Deora, won thrice with that party, also hit out at the Thackerays and the opposition combine over a “fake narrative” against the ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, the Sena group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP breakaway unit of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
“The Maharashtra government has performed very well… whether it is for social welfare or infrastructure. And, therefore the people will re-elect this government”.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: On the performance of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray as Worli MLA, Shiv Sena candidate from Worli Assembly seat Milind Deora says, “I don’t want to make it negative, but I certainly see that there are a lot of opportunities, a lot of shortcomings… pic.twitter.com/oP3lERDz9c
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2024
As for himself, Mr Deora declared, “I want to serve the people. If I get an opportunity to serve via Parliament or if through the Assembly… to me, service is service. The objective is – how do you empower people? That is my objective.”
READ |Â Shinde Sena Fields Milind Deora Against Aaditya Thackeray In Worli
“I know this area… have represented this area,” he said when asked if his Lok Sabha wins could be a tactical advantage. Mr Deora is expected to file his nomination papers later today.
The Worli Battle
Thackeray junior holds the Worli seat – a Shiv Sena stronghold – that will vote, with the state’s 287 other Assembly constituencies, on November 20.
Except Worli isn’t just a Sena stronghold.
The posh neighbourhood is in the Mumbai (South) Lok Sabha constituency that is widely seen as the backyard of the Deora family, but it has been with the Thackeray Sena since 2014.
It has held the Worli Assembly seat since 1990, except for the NCP’s 2019 win.
And the margin of Aaditya Thackeray’s win in the 2019 state election – a 65 per cent vote share advantage – underlines the magnitude of the task. The good news is that in the Lok Sabha election, although the Thackeray Sena won Mumbai (South), the margin from Worli was less than 6,500.
Aaditya Thackeray, though, is unfazed.
“The People Know…”
The junior Thackeray led a massive rally Thursday as he filed his papers, and told NDTV, “… the people have realised the BJP is a party of hollow promises (and) will stand against Eknath Shinde…”
READ |Â “People Know BJP, Shinde Looted State”: Aaditya Thackeray To NDTV
Asked about the battle for Worli, he said, “You can see the response of the people. That is their love… The common man and woman on the streets are giving me their blessings.”
A Third Challenger?
Raj Thackeray could be the dark horse in this election. His MNS opted not to field a candidate from Worli in 2019 to respect Aaditya Thackeray’s electoral debut.
READ |Â For Aaditya Thackeray, Worli Challenge Likely From Uncle’s Party
But all bets are off now, especially since the reduced margin in the Lok Sabha polls signals an opportunity to gain ground. “In 2017 (in municipal polls), we bagged around 30,000 to 33,000 votes from Worli. We have voters dedicated to MNS here…” Mr Deshpande told news agency PTI.
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