Ending Cong-NCP misrule more important than CM ambition, says Uddhav

Placing the question of chief ministership squarely on the table although the election campaign has only just started, Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray today said ending the decade-long “misrule” by the Congress-NCP alliance was more important than pursuing personal ambitions like being the chief minister.

“I don’t have personal ambition. An issue like being chief minister is very small when compared to the hardships faced by people during the Congress-NCP misrule which I discovered during my various tours across the state,” Thackeray said while responding to a question on whether he was the Sena-BJP’s choice for the chief minister if the Shiv Sena-BJP combine was voted to power.

BJP leader and spokesman Prakash Javadekar has already said that if the alliance comes to power, the choice of CM would be Uddhav Thackeray.

Thackeray, 49, also said the saffron alliance would review several “anti-people” decisions of the Congress-NCP coalition if voted to power.

Giving an example of an “anti people” decision, he said: “The airstrip in Gondia was constructed after acquiring agricultural land of farmers and they were not compensated at all.” Gondia is the home district of Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel.

When asked about rebels in fray, Thackeray said voters would not entertain them. “People want to vote out the incumbent government and will support the Sena-BJP. Voters have realised that the ruling coalition partners don’t fulfil promises,” he said.

Asked about his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray’s criticism of the Shiv Sena for not pursuing the cause of “Marathi Manoos”, Uddhav said: “The electorate have realised that voting for MNS means voting for Congress.

Meanwhile, Uddhav launched a veiled attack on Raj, saying “some people criticise Sena-BJP leaders but leave Congress-NCP untouched, apprehending being “picked up like a rat and put into a cage”.