'Aaditya is not bound by my wishes'

Uddhav Thackeray says he is free to take decisions about the future; slams Sharad Pawar over Sujay Vikhe Patil's candidature

Aaditya Thackeray will not contest the forthcoming elections, but will take a call to enter electoral politics in future, said his father and Shiv Sena president, Uddhav Thackeray.

On Aaditya's candidature
The Sena chief said this while elaborating a joint action plan for the Lok Sabha campaign that the Sena and BJP will take up till the end of April. "Aaditya is not bound by my wishes. But let me clear that he will not contest in the Lok Sabha polls that are slated next month. I have left all decisions that he needs to take in the future (post-Lok Sabha) to him," he said, addressing a media conference on Wednesday. But Thackeray's statement did not put to rest the buzz on Aaditya, because many people in the Sena want him to be the chief minister of Maharashtra.

After meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior BJP leaders late on Tuesday night at his Bandra residence, Thackeray has a comprehensive joint campaign strategy. The alliance partners will hold several joint rallies across the state from March 15. They have appointed coordination committees of one member each from BJP and Sena for some Lok Sabha constituencies. Thackeray snubbed NCP boss Sharad Pawar for predicting that the BJP will be single largest party but Narendra Modi will not be prime minister for the second term.

Son shine
Incidentally, BJP's new entrant, Sujay Vikhe Patil, whose defection is blamed on Pawar's refusal to part with Ahmednagar, also met Thackeray. "I not only take care of my own children, but also ensure that children of others in Sena and BJP are taken care of by me and my party," Thackeray said in response to Pawar's statement that he was not responsible for fulfilling the wishes of other's children (Sujay is Congress leader Radhakrishna's son). "I never used the children of party workers and leaders to wash utensils. I have promised Sujay that we will work wholeheartedly for him," Thackeray said.

Also Read: Aaditya Thackeray may take ticket to Delhi

Cong candidates
Milind Deora and Priya Dutt will be the Congress candidates from Mumbai South and Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha constituencies. The candidates for Mumbai's three other constituencies that are with the Congress will be declared later, as the city will go to the polls on April 29.

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