MUMBAI: Shiv Sena shall have its own chief Minister one day, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray has said in an interview given to party mouthpiece Saamana.
In the first part of the interview published on Monday, the Shiv Sena head has also made it clear that his son Aditya won’t be a minister in Fadnavis cabinet immediately.
To a question on why Shiv Sena has climbed down to just 124 seats in the alliance, (It used to contest 171 out of 288 till it parted ways with BJP in 2014), Uddhav Thackeray replied by saying that he looks at the situation in an exactly opposite angle.
“Shiv Sena has entered into an alliance with its best tally of 63 MLAs and that the party shall certainly benefit out of it,” Thackeray said.
“One day, a Shiv Sainik would become the chief minister of Maharashtra, it is a promise I made to my father and Sena founder late Balasaheb,” he added.
When asked on why BJP president Amit Shah, who had visited Matoshree (Thackeray’s residence) before Lok Sabha election didn’t turn up to tie the knot before assembly election, Thackeray said that he shares a good rapport with the union home minister.
“Before Lok Sabha, the alliance had almost withered away. We were not together. But, that is not the condition now,” he said.
When asked whether the pact equal share of seats has been broken, Thackeray said, “In seat-sharing we have given them leeway. After the elections, the government will be formed in about a week and then the people shall know what is meant by equal share.”
Thackeray also praised the involvement of youth in politics and said that it is good that so many young men and women are coming forth to positively participate in politics.
On his son Aditya’s contesting election, Thackeray said that it doesn’t mean that he would be leaving politics now that Aditya is contesting elections,
“Aaditya contesting the Assembly election does not necessarily mean I am retiring from active politics. I am very much around,” he said and in an apparent sarcastic reference to NCP leader Ajit Pawar who had resigned as MLA and advised his son to prefer farming or business over politics, added, “I am not going to do farming.”
He also made it clear that Aditya won’t be a Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister all of a sudden, as is being widely speculated now.
“He has a keen interest in parliamentary democracy. He used to go there to assembly gallery very often. He is fond of it. He is going to become MLA for the first time. Let him learn the things,” Thackeray said.
Indicating that the party’s strategy of playing opposition role while being in power shall continue, Thackeray said, “In 2014 Shiv Sena had put a check on a national wave in Maharashtra and despite being in power, we have always raised voice for the cause of the common man. That nature won’t wither away.”