In response to Raj Thackeray’s announcement that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) would support the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, senior leaders and cadre resigned in protest.
MNS general secretary Kirtikumar Shinde recently resigned from the party, explaining his decision on Facebook.
Some questioned the existence of their party, and others may follow in the footsteps of party chief Raj Thackeray. Despite the fact that his party was not contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Raj Thackeray campaigned against the BJP, specifically against PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Many prominent MNS leaders left the party prior to the elections, including Vaishali Darekar-Rane, who is now running for Shiv Sena (UBT) in the Kalyan constituency, and Vasant More, who is running on the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi ticket in the Pune constituency; both cited internal party politics as their reasons.
MNS North Mumbai Vice-President Nayan Kadam told Afternoon Voice that Vasant More vacated the seat because he demanded an MP’s seat but was unqualified for the position,
Furthermore, he stated that if we must support Maharashtra, which party should we support? Is there any other options? We agree that the BJP has given tickets to those who were facing ED and CBI allegations against them, and they are now clean in the BJP’s washing machine.”
Dilip Datir, the former MNS chief from Nashik who left the party last year for personal reasons, stated that the MNS party will follow in the footsteps of Raj Thackeray, who may have considered all of the benefits and drawbacks before supporting the BJP and the Modi government. MNS was supposed to compete for the 5-3 seat, but now there is none. Raj Thackeray believes that if he runs for Lok Sabha, he will fight with all of his heart.
