Mumbai, Oct 13 (PTI) Raj Thackeray-led MaharashtraNavnirman Sena (MNS) suffered a body blow today with six ofits seven corporators in the Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation joining the Shiv Sena, with which the MNS founderhad parted ways in 2005.
The party, set up in 2006, has been floundering aftertasting initial success.
MNS had 27 corporators after the 2012 BMC elections. Thenumber dwindled to 7 in the 2017 polls, and is now reduced tojust one after today's dramatic development.
Similarly, the party's tally in the MaharashtraLegislative Assembly has come down from an impressive 13 afterthe 2009 polls to just one MLA after the 2014 elections.
The party's fortunes, which were on the upswing after itcame to power in the Nashik Municipal Corporation in 2012,declined in the next polls, with many of its corporators inthe north Maharashtra city quitting ahead of the polls.
Now, there are just five MNS corporators in Nashik--threein Pune and one in Pimpri civic bodies, once consideredpockets of influence of the 11-year-old party.
MNS, which advocated jobs for "sons of soil", createdripples on the political scene with its violent agitationagainst North Indian migrants in 2008, during which itsworkers beat up candidates from northern parts of the countryappearing for the all-India Railway Recruitment Board entranceexam for the western region in Mumbai.
Despite getting some mileage in the 2009 Assemblyelection, Raj Thackeray's party has been on the decline sincethe 2014 Assembly election, with many top leaders jumping theship.
The MNS played spoilsport for the Shiv Sena in the 2009Lok Sabha election by dividing votes of Marathi-speakers inMumbai, contributing to the defeat of all six candidates ofthe Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in the city.
The MNS was established in 2006 for "securing the rightsand interests of Marathi manoos" after Shiv Sena supremo BalThackeray anointed his youngest son Uddhav as executivepresident, sidelining nephew Raj Thackeray.
Seeking to grow his party, Raj Thackeray went hammer andtongs against North Indian migrants, accusing them of stealingjobs from native youths.
As recently as this week, MNS activists went on a rampagein Sangli's Kupwad industrial area, thrashing migrant workersalleging that jobs rightfully belonging to locals were beingtaken over by "outsiders". PTI VT KRKSRY.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.