Raj Thackeray’s Rallies Against BJP-Shiv Sena Have Put EC In a Fix

Why is MNS chief Raj Thackeray campaigning when he’s not fielding any candidates in Maharashtra?

Why is Raj Thackeray Campaigning Without Fielding Candidates?

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman

In Maharashtra, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has lately been seen addressing many election meetings. Despite the MNS not fielding any candidates this Lok Sabha elections, he has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his rallies.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken notice of this and has written to Election Commission (EC) asking who is the MNS chief actually contesting for? The party has written to the EC demanding that the expenditure for Raj Thackeray’s campaigns be added to the local candidate’s expenses. The BJP’s demands have even put the EC in a quandary.

Why Is BJP Worried?

Huge crowds are being witnessed at Raj Thackeray’s election rallies and in his speeches he has been directly targeting PM Modi.

He’s been heard saying to the public:

“Modi-Shah duo should be thrown out of power. And those who only speak lies should be taught a lesson.”   

EC In a Quandary

However, Thackeray is being clever as he is not telling people directly whom to vote for.

The interesting thing to note here is that while one brother, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray, is supporting the BJP in its quest for raising the “saffron flag” in Delhi, the other brother, Raj Thackeray is campaigning against the party.   

Now since Raj Thackeray isn’t telling people whom to vote for, the EC has been left confused regarding who is the candidate the MNS chief is actually supporting.

The BJP’s claim is this will lead to a new kind of malpractice if the EC doesn’t take any decision soon. In the upcoming elections, many people will try to benefit from this by campaigning without actually contesting the polls.

(This article was originally published on Quint Hindi and has been translated.)