Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut (File photo) Amid speculation in Maharashtra over the Chief Minister’s post, Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Uddhav Thackeray will serve a full term and there was no scope for any discussion on sharing the post.
“The Chief Minister’s post will remain with the Shiv Sena for full five years. The post will not be shared…because it is a commitment which was given (by the constituents) when the Maha Vikas Aghadi was formed,” Raut said in Nashik today.
Raut said when the Chief Minister’s post was being deliberated between the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Agadhi, he was a witness to the whole discussion. “I was part of the discussion. I was witness to it..a commitment was given to the Shiv Sena that it will hold the post for full five years,” he said, “Even NCP chief Sharad Pawar has also spoken on these lines a couple of days back.”
Raut added that he was clarifying the matter so as to clear confusion, if any, in the minds of the media personnel and the people.
On MPCC chief Nana Patole’s statement that he aspired to become a Chief Minister, Raut said, “There was nothing wrong in it….Congress has many leaders who are capable of becoming Chief Ministers and Prime Minister. In politics, it is not wrong to have big ambitions and dreams.”
On the possibility of Shiv Sena going it alone in local body elections after Congress announced it will contest these polls on its own, Raut told The Indian Express, “The Shiv Sena is capable of contesting and winning civic and parliamentary elections on its own.”
Asked whether there will be no tie up with the NCP, Raut said, “Shiv Sena and NCP are ready to contest local body polls together.”
Raut said Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena have come together to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and have separate identities. “These three parties have not merged with each other. They have separate identities. Each has the right to strengthen its party network.”
In the party mouthpiece “Saamna”, Raut wrote, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s 30-minute meeting has created a political storm.
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“After the meeting, some people are thinking that there will be a change in the state’s politics. BJP leaders are in the forefront of harbouring these thoughts. Some people in the administration are planting these stories. A year and half back, BJP got a shock to its belief that it will never lose power and Shiv Sena will always have to play second fiddle.”
Raut added, “Today Maharashtra’s politics is at such a stage that it could change the politics of the country. If the BJP and Shiv Sena government had come to power, then what new would have happened? But Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP government came to power and set a new trend. Here it should be remembered that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah never tried to create hurdles when the MVA government was being formed. The BJP leaders in Maharashtra never tried to understand the meaning of this…”
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