Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray bowled a googly at the BJP, offering Union Minister Nitin Gadkari a Lok Sabha candidature from Nagpur, because his name was missing from the party’s first list of official nominees. Addressing a rally in Dharashiv on Friday, Thackeray wondered why Gadkari was not named in the BJP’s first list of 195. He said while a Congress import like Kripashankar Singh had found a place, the leader who had strived to make the party bigger, was given a raw deal.

“What are you doing there in the BJP? Show them the Maharashtra mettle. Leave them, we will get you elected as the MVA candidate,” said Thackeray in an appeal to Gadkari.