No future elections if BJP returns to power next year: Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic/Ashish Raje

Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray has reiterated that there will be no democratic polls in the future if the BJP comes to power in New Delhi next year. Hence, he said, the year 2024 will be a turning point for the country because it will see the end of the BJP regime. He also slammed the tripartite government in the state, calling it a ‘Dalda' can and questioned Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's frequent trips to the national capital.

Thackeray was speaking on a podcast, ‘Aavaj Kunacha', anchored by his party colleague Sanjay Raut. The interview is being released in four parts, the first of which was uploaded on Wednesday. He said that the sun had even set on the mighty British empire. "Everything ends. It's a law of the nature," he added, criticising the BJP-revived NDA and praising the opposition's pre-poll front INDIA. He wondered why the BJP needed new partners, when, actually it had three allies - Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and the Income-Tax Department.

Thackeray's bête noire, Shinde, remained his prime target. When Raut asked him about the MVA government that was washed away in last year's monsoon, he said, "Actually, the dam wall was weakened by the crabs who were seated silently." When probed about his unawareness, he added, "Whatever you do to make a crab walk straight, it won't stop diverting."

He asked what might have led the BJP to split the NCP. "Let them say I have backstabbed them. But what had NCP done to split at the behest of BJP? There was no need to have more MLAs in the stable government. And what about the corruption allegations the PM had made against the NCP leaders barely four-five days before the split?" he asked further.

He added that it was a prior understanding between the BJP and some NCP leaders that led to the new diplomacy. "It's a result of prior understanding. People who went to them are saints and those who came with us were corrupt. I don't understand this policy."

Thackeray said he had no way to know the secrets between Shinde and Modi-Shah. When asked about the stability of the Shinde government, he said, "It makes no difference to the state government's existence if you (Shinde and others) have to frequently visit Delhi to sort small things. How is the situation in the country? Manipur is part of India, but there is concern whether it will sever ties with the nation. The double engine sarkar has failed there as well."

Good joke: Bawankule

State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule ridiculed the podcast as a big joke, because "Uddhav Thackeray who thought only about himself, his family and his son is talking about saving democracy". He said Thackeray, who "abandoned his father's Hindutva ideology and saluted Sonia Gandhi", was criticising PM Modi and Amit Shah, under whose leadership the country was safe.

"Uddhav Thackeray couldn't lead his own MLAs who left because of his non-performance. You did not leave the residence when you were the CM. Now you are blaming others," he added, in a statement.
Bawankule reiterated that Thackeray had betrayed the alliance and ethics in 2019. "Stop talking about ethics sitting at home," he added.