MUMBAI: After Rahul Gandhi, it is the turn of Raj Thackeray. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president is the latest subject of jokes on the social media as his party has hit a new low in the Maharashtra Assembly elections despite the hype he had created.
The MNS could win only one seat in spite of fielding 231 candidates. And the lone MNS winner, Sharad Sonawane from Junnar had emerged victorious on the basis of his own credentials. A senior MNS member said that the involvement of Raj’s friends and business partners in party affairs had ruined it. He pointed out that the MNS chief’s chums, who had been fielded by the party, lost the polls although they enjoyed his wholehearted support. The MNS second-in-command, Bala Nandgaonkar, Raj’s business partner Nitin Sardesai and his trusted lieutenant Pravin Darekar were among those who lost the elections.
“The seniors kept themselves aloof from the cadre. We always faced difficulties to reach out to them. As there was no communication, the leaders could not understand what the cadre wanted,” a worker from Andheri said.
Nandgaonkar admitted that there were some flaws in the party’s functioning. “We will take stock of the situation again and make necessary changes in the organisation,” he said.
Raj has warned the party workers not to trust the social media because it was a tool for “spreading lies”. But, he had made fun of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for being targeted in the virtual world.