The cousins Thackeray are back together and will be fighting elections as an alliance. Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have come together to fight the Mumbai civic elections together. The chiefs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena released their joint manifesto, named 'Vachan Nama', on Saturday.
At the manifesto release for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Thackerays said that the booklet carrying promises was presented to the people. They termed their alliance as 'Shiv-Shakti' and vowed to protect the interests of the 'Marathi manus' and the city as a whole, India Today reported.
What does the 'Vachan Nama' promise?
The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance has made several key promises ahead of the January 15 polls, including affordable housing, a 'Swabhiman Nidhi' scheme under which domestic helps, and Koli women will get a monthly allowance of Rs. 1,500, similar to the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, which offers the same benefit to eligible women aged 21 to 65.
The alliance also said it will set up 'Maa Saheb' kitchens, named after Meenatai Thackeray, Bal Thackeray's wife, to provide breakfast and lunch at Rs. 10, on the lines of the 'Shiv Bhojan Thali' scheme. Other proposals include waiving property tax on homes up to 700 sq ft and changing parking rules to ensure one parking space for every flat in redeveloped buildings.
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Thackerays slam BJP
The cousins launched scathing attacks against the BJP at the event. Uddhav Thackeray said, "There is no democracy left. After vote theft, they are now stealing candidates. There is a monstrous race to ensure ruling party candidates win unopposed." He added, "I'm sure the Mumbai mayor will be Marathi, but the BJP should answer who the deputy mayors were when they were in power with us."
Uddhav Thackeray demanded re-polls in seats where Mahayuti candidates won by default due to the lack of opposition candidates. Raj Thackeray, too, attacked the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. He alleged that the Mahayuti was "turning Maharashtra into UP-Bihar".
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Results last time
In the 2017 civic polls, the undivided Shiv Sena emerged as the largest party with 84 seats, while the BJP made major gains, jumping from 31 to 82 seats. As no party crossed the majority mark of 114, a brief political stalemate followed, which ended when the BJP gave outside support to the Shiv Sena, allowing Vishwanath Mahadeshwar to become Mumbai Mayor. The Congress finished third with 31 seats, down from 52 earlier. The undivided NCP won nine seats, while the MNS suffered heavy losses, dropping from 27 seats to just 7.
