Maharashtra polls about love vs betrayal of state: Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on 5 October, Tuesday, hit the campaign trail and pitched the 20 November assembly polls as a battle between those who love Maharashtra and the ones who have betrayed it, as he reflected on the 2022 split in his party.

Thackeray hit out at his former ally, the BJP, and its partners, saying those helping the national party are "enemies" of Maharashtra.

He made a slew of promises to voters, including building a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in every district if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comes to power.

Addressing his first rally of the 2024 assembly polls in Radhanagri in Kolhapur district — the constituency of Prakash Abitkar, one of the 40 Shiv Sena MLAs who rebelled against his leadership — he said those who love the state are aligned with the opposition MVA, which comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the NCP (SP).

Those helping the BJP, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti bloc, are enemies of Maharashtra, Thackeray remarked. The former CM accused the BJP of "selling" Maharashtra to Gujarat, where it is in power.

Thackeray claimed his government was toppled in June 2022 because he did not allow the BJP to harm Maharashtra and said not a single industrial project moved out of the state when the MVA was in office under his leadership.

"(Maharashtra assembly poll) is a fight between those who love the state and the ones who betray it," Thackeray told the gathering.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) president started his speech addressing 'Jamlelya majhya tamam Maharashtra-premi bandhavanu, matanu ani baghinino (my Maharashtra-loving brothers, mothers and sisters)', seeking to position the electoral battle as a fight between "the ones who love the state and those who work against it".

In his campaign speeches during the Lok Sabha polls in April–May too, he would start his address with the salutation to 'my Maharashtra-loving brothers, mothers and sisters'. It was contrary to his former Hindutva-rooted 'My Hindu brothers, mothers and sisters' opening remarks at rallies, reflecting his alignment with the Congress and the NCP (SP), which project themselves as secular.

Referring to petitions filed by his party in the Supreme Court seeking disqualifications of rebel Sena MLAs, Thackeray emphasised he has still not got justice from the top judiciary and hence has come to people's court for justice.

"I am not fighting for myself, but for you and Maharashtra," the former CM insisted.

He accused the BJP of trying to divide people on the basis of religion and castes for the sake of power.

Attacking the state's Eknath Shinde-led dispensation, which assumed office after the fall of the MVA administration, Thackeray alleged the government works on "commission".

Talking about the Mahayuti government's flagship scheme for poor women, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, Thackeray said police were not even ready to register the complaint of the mother of the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a school in Badlapur in Thane district in August.

He said that while the government is implementing the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which underprivileged women are provided a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, inflation is spiralling, making essential commodities costly for common citizens.

Thackeray promised that if the MVA comes to power, every district in Maharashtra would have a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The former CM said if possible, he would also build a temple dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king in Surat, in present-day Gujarat, a city linked to Shivaji Maharaj's military campaign.

He assured that after the MVA comes to power, rates of essential food items like rice, pulses, oil and sugar would be stabilised.

Thackeray said currently education for female students is free in the state, but an MVA government would extend this benefit to male pupils, too.

The former chief minister said all-female police stations will be established in the state with an aim to provide a safe and accessible environment for women to file complaints and seek redressal of their grievances.

He reiterated that the multi-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai, being executed by the Adani Group, will be scrapped if the MVA comes to power.

Thackeray also promised payment of a minimum support price (MSP) to farmers for their crops under a MVA dispensation.

Polling for the 288-member assembly will take place on 20 November and votes will be counted three days later.

In all, 4,140 candidates are in the fray across the state.