Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will contest all 288 seats in upcoming Assembly elections on its own and will not forge any alliance, a senior party leader said here today.
Addressing a press conference here, MNS MLA Praveen Darekar, who represents Magathane constituency in suburban Mumbai, said, "Raj Thackeray would claim mandate of people on the basis of a 'blue print' that is being prepared for the development of Maharashtra."
Raj, the estranged cousin of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, had already announced his decision to contest elections while breaking away from the convention of not entering the electoral politics which has been followed by the Thackeray clan.
Darekar was here to interact with party cadres in the region.
"MNS has strong contenders in Warora, Rajura and Ballarpur Assembly constituencies in the district. I have interacted and held consultations with the party workers, who are willing to fight, at Bhadrawati, Chimur, Ballarpur, Rajura and Brahmapuri during my visit to the district," he said.
In a hint that it would put to use all tricks to defeat its rivals, Darekar said that MNS would not "hesitate" to field candidates from outside, if the party feels that contestants in certain Assembly segments are not up to the mark.
The legislator said that prominent political parties in the State are undergoing a "leadership crisis".
"While people have simply rejected both the Congress and NCP in recent Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena is facing the lack of leadership. On the other hand, there are many contenders for party leadership in the state for BJP," he said.
Replying to a query, Darekar said that many political bigwigs from other parties are knocking the doors of MNS.
"However, the decision on their entry into the party would be taken only by Raj Thackeray and that too at an appropriate moment," he added.
Darekar claimed that his party's roadmap for ushering in development will be accepted by people in Maharashtra and as a result of which the party will put up a good show in the forthcoming elections.
MNS had made a spectacular debut in 2009 Assembly elections by pocketing 13 seats and made Shiv Sena bite the dust in its citadel of Dadar in Central Mumbai.
