On MNS’ 16th Foundation Day, Raj Thackeray says polls deferred because of CM’s health

PUNE The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has made efforts in the past few months to enthuse workers though the party stands on shaky ground in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. Amidst uncertainty, the party chief Raj Thackeray addressed workers in Pune during the 16th Foundation Day celebrations, on Wednesday.

In his speech, Thackeray accused Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of deferring civic elections because of his health. “I don’t want to comment on anyone’s health. The CM’s health is not great. But it’s the real reason for deferring polls,” said Thackeray.

The CM is still recovering from cervical spine surgery and has reduced his public appearance.

Thackeray said the government has postponed local body polls till June when there will be rain. “But then common public is not interested in polls,” he added.

The Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council unanimously passed two bills on Monday, which would lay the grounds for the postponement of local body elections in Maharashtra till Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation is restored.

The address by the MNS president was rousing though party workers said they lack an on-ground network to galvanise voters during elections. With civic elections just months away, the MNS Pune unit was taking efforts to shortlist candidates.

Considering its past performance in the civic polls, the MNS has decided to concentrate more on 40 seats in the city for a better outcome.

The MNS led by its president Raj Thackeray had created a strong impact in the 2012 elections though it lost the ploy in subsequent polls held in 2017. In 2017, the party won only two seats compared to 29 seats in 2012.

Party’s week organisational network however has met with the difficult task of identifying strong candidates across the city. To prepare a strategy for the upcoming polls, MNS held an internal discussion in the city last month in which the leaders’ identified seats based on their projected performance.