Mumbai: Senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contest from Nashik constituency in Maharashtra in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP’s position in Maharashtra is so grave that they do not have candidates to contest the elections in the state. Even if Modi contests from here, he will lose, said Raut.
The Shiv Sena UBT leader was in Nashik on Sunday to oversee the preparations for Aaditya Thackeray’s public rally at Ghoti in Igatpuri taluka of Nashik district. He claimed that if Nashik MP (from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena) contests the elections this time, he would lose the deposit.
“PM Modi should contest from the Nashik Lok Sabha seat… even he will be defeated. Maharashtra’s people are appalled over the game of power and money played (by the BJP) in the state,” he said.
His remarks have come on the backdrop of BJP not announcing its Lok Sabha candidates from Maharashtra so far. The Sena leader claimed that the BJP was finding it difficult to announce the list of candidates contesting Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra as the party was aware that it was on shaky ground here.
“The BJP high command now knows the real situation across the state. They know they are on shaky ground. Basically, they have no candidates to contest elections in Maharashtra,” Raut said.
The BJP announced the names of candidates for 195 LS seats across the country. The list, however, did not mention a single candidate from Maharashtra.
“It was not easy for the BJP to prepare the list because its MPs and those who left undivided Shiv Sena know that they cannot win without our support,” said Raut.
The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that 90 per cent of the Sena leaders who went along with CM Eknath Shinde are in touch with UBT leadership. “They are in touch, but we are not ready to take them back,” Raut said.
The UBT Sena leader said that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance is in the process of finalising its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. “The meetings are over now. All four parties, including the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, have finished their meetings and are finalising candidates,” said Raut.
