Aaditya Thackeray challenges Eknath Shinde: Will contest from Thane and win

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday slammed the Maharashtra government saying that "Mughal rule" was prevailing in the state, and declared that he would contest the next assembly election from Thane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's bastion.

He was speaking at a rally organised by the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress -- which comprise the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition -- in protest against an alleged attack on a woman worker of the Sena (UBT) in Thane city two days ago.

Sena (UBT) leader and Thane MP Rajan Vichare, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad and Thane city Congress chief Vikrant Chavan participated in the protest march to Thane police commissioner's office, besides thousands of workers of the three MVA parties.

Aaditya Thackeray in his speech said that the Shinde-led Shiv Sena was not a party at all.   

"It is a stolen party. How can a gang of thieves be a party?....There is now mogalai in the state," said Thackeray, a former state minister. The word mogalai is often used to denote tyranny in Marathi.

"There is no chief minister of Maharashtra, whoever there is, he is the chief minister of Guwahati and Gujarat," he said in a jibe at Shinde, who had taken his flock of Shiv Sena MLAs first to Surat and later to Guwahati after rebelling against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership last June.

Saying that the Shinde government would not last long, Aaditya said once it falls, everyone including "traitor" leaders and officials who have misused their positions will face consequences.

"I would contest from Thane and win," said Aaditya, who had won the 2019 assembly election from Worli in south Mumbai. Chief Minister Shinde, notably, represents the Kopri Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane city.

A woman worker of the Shiv Sena (UBT) was assaulted, but instead of booking the assailants, the police in Thane registered FIRs against her for alleged defamation, Thackeray said.

Roshni Shinde, activist of the Sena (UBT), had alleged that she was assaulted over a `derogatory' Facebook post about the chief minister and his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The chief minister kept quiet even after this atrocity took place in his city, Aaditya Thackeray further said.

He also targeted Shinde over big-ticket industrial projects going to Gujarat instead of Maharashtra.

‘Nari Sanman Yatra' will be taken out in every district of Maharashtra to fight for women's honour, Thackeray announced.