MUMBAI: On a day when Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray launched his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Jalgaon district, Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut made no bones about the fact that the party looks at the Thackeray scion as the future Maharashtra CM.
“We want to create a new Maharashtra and in the endeavour, the Shiv Sena needs support and blessings of all the people of the state. We’ve started off with this ‘Yatra’ to seek blessings of the people,” Aaditya said at the launch of the tour in Pachora on Thursday.
“This tour is not being organised to get me any post.”
But even as Aaditya announced the tour was not about him, Raut asserted what many Sena leaders have been saying in private for years.
“I feel Maharashtra needs a fresh face in a leadership position. The state has tremendous potential to reach new heights on several fronts and for that, it needs a young leader who has new ideas,” Raut told a news channel.
“If the CM’s post comes to Shiv Sena, I’ve no doubt that Aaditya Thackeray would be the next Chief Minister.”
As a matter of principle, Sena founder Bal Thackeray never contested any election or accepted any official position. Uddhav Thackeray too followed the unwritten rule. However, Sena leaders are trying to ensure Aaditya’s direct participation in electoral politics.
Top Sena leaders Manohar Joshi, Eknath Shinde and Neelam Gorhe along with other party legislators have advocated that Aaditya should enter electoral politics.
Aaditya maintains that any decision on electoral politics will be taken by his father and other senior leaders.