Mumbai, September 29: Breaking away from tradition, Uddhav Thackeray's son and president of Shiv Sena's youth wing Aaditya Thackeray will contest from Worli assembly seat, becoming the first from his family to contest elections. The announcement that Aaditya would be contesting from the Worli assembly seat was made on Sunday evening. The Shiv Sena has also been trying to project him as the chief ministerial candidate ahead of the polls. Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019: Shiv Sena Distributes AB Forms to Its Incumbent MLAs Amid Seat-Sharing Talks With BJP; Aaditya Thackeray to Contest From Worli.
Aaditya's grandfather and founder of Shiv Sena, late Balasaheb Thackeray, was known as 'Kingmaker' and never contested any elections. Thackeray was also called 'Remote Control' during the BJP-Shiv Sena ruled Mumbai mid 90s. Thackeray had often said that he never contested an election as he did not believe that he was a conventional politician and that he had bigger roles to fulfill.
Following the example, Thackeray's successor and son Uddhav Thackeray also never contested an election. Bal Thackeray's nephew and founder of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray also did not contest any polls. Raj, who was with the Shiv Sena before breaking away to form his own party, also followed the leadership style of his uncle and intends to be seen as the authority rather than an office bearer.
However, amid seat-sharing talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019, the Shiv Sena on Sunday distributed AB forms to its incumbent MLAs. Aaditya Thackeray's name also emerged in the forms, making it clear that Aaditya Thackeray will be the first from the family to contest elections. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is yet to announce the seat sharing deal for the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2019 10:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).