Maharashtra assembly elections 2024: Aaditya Thackeray focused on "negative politics", says Milind Deora

Milind Deora. File Pic/X

As Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 draw near, one of the most high-profile battles is unfolding in the Worli assembly constituency, as the seat is going to witness a contest between two factions of one of the major regional parties, Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT).

Shiv Sena has announced Milind Deora as the Mahayuti candidate from Worli, whereas, Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Aaditya Thackeray as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate from the seat.

In an interview with ANI, Mahayuti's candidate Milind Deora shared his vision for the development of Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra.

He also took a dig at the opposition, especially Aaditya Thackeray, saying that they are creating hurdles in the path of every development project. Attacking him further, Deora said he focused on "negative politics."

"The Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has a vision to rapidly progress Mumbai and Maharashtra, but unfortunately, the opposition, especially MLA Aditya Thackeray, is creating obstacles. He brought speed breakers to every development project. They've slowed down Mumbai's metro, India's largest port, and even the Ladki Bahen scheme for women's empowerment. Our goal is to remove these obstacles and move forward swiftly, as Maharashtra contributes significantly to India's economy, nearly 20 per cent. Mumbai's metropolitan region is crucial for Maharashtra's progress," he told ANI.

As both Milind Deora and Aaditya Thackeray belonged to the same party at one time, the Shiv Sena leader also opened up about his relationship with Thackeray and said that both share a good bond, however, Deora tries to keep the elections political and not personal.

"Aditya and I have a good bond, but I never make elections personal it's a political battle. My main goal is to ensure justice for Mumbai and Maharashtra's citizens. We'll remove any obstacles (speed breakers) to achieve this. Unfortunately, Aditya Thackeray has focused on negative politics for the past 5 years, wasting the opportunity to do constructive work," Milind Deora told ANI.

Praising CM Eknath Shinde, Deora exuded confidence that the people will cast their vote in favour of Shinde as, according to him, he is the "most accessible Chief Minister."

"I'm confident that the public will decide to vote for Shinde Sahab's leadership, as they want an accessible Chief Minister who is available and meets their needs, and I proudly say he's one of the most accessible Chief Ministers in the country. Under his leadership, people will certainly cast their votes," Deora told ANI.

He also rubbished the 'traitor' remarks by Maha Vikas Aghadi and said the "biggest traitors" are those who betrayed the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray.

"My father and Balasaheb Thackeray were close friends. The biggest traitor is whoever betrays Balasaheb's ideology and stabs him in the back. The public will decide, and loyal Shiv Sainiks who follow Balasaheb's ideology will vote for the Dhanush Ban (symbol of Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction)," Deora said.

He also criticised Raj Thackeray and said, "Some politicians lack consistency, often supporting different parties and making U-turns. We don't take them seriously and don't need to respond to them. We'll focus on showcasing our positive work to the people."

Deora further slammed Maha Vikash Aghadi over their manifesto and said that they were initially criticising Ladli Behen Yojana but now they are launching a similar scheme "Mahalaxmi Yojana."

"It's ironic that Congress leaders initially criticized the Ladli Bahna Yojana, vowed to scrap it if they came to power, and even went to court to stop it. Now, they're launching a similar scheme, Mahalaxmi Yojana, in their manifesto. If they genuinely wanted to introduce such a scheme, why did they oppose the Ladli Bahna scheme in court?" Deora remarked, reported ANI.

The Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.

The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), seeks to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42.

(With inputs from ANI)