28 February,2024 02:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Girish Mahajan/ File photo
Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan, criticising Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, said that his party should try to win at least one seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. The senior BJP leader also challenged Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar to ensure his daughter Supriya Sule wins the Baramati Lok Sabha seat she currently represents, reported PTI.
According to the report, Mahajan's comments were in response to Thackeray's remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent visits to Maharashtra; Thackeray suggested that the PM visited the western state frequently due to BJP's dread of losing the elections. PM Modi will be in Yavatmal on Wednesday to inaugurate several development projects.
While speaking with a regional news channel, Mahajan criticised Thackeray's comments, urging him to back them up with electoral victory. He also highlighted the BJP's desire to win over 400 Lok Sabha seats, comparing Thackeray's party to a cat in a tiger suit.
"PM Narendra Modi is not only visiting Maharashtra today, but he is visiting a total of three states in a day. Whatever Uddhav Thackeray has said...only naive people can trust his words. I challenge him that his party wins at least one Lok Sabha seat," Mahajan said.
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The state minister for Rural Development added, "We have already given a clarion call of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats. If a cat wears the skin of a tiger, it does not make her a tiger...I also challenge Sharad Pawar to ensure the victory of his daughter Supriya Sule from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat."
The Shiv Sena, led by Thackeray, is a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance alongside the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Shiv Sena won 18 seats, of which, only five back the Thackeray Sena and the rest have sided with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
EOW probe against Sena (UBT)
Meanwhile, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has launched an investigation into allegations made by the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) that the Uddhav Thackeray faction had misused party accounts and diverted Rs 50 crore despite the Election Commission of India (ECI) declaring the former as the real Shiv Sena.
