Breaking silence three months after his party was routed in the Maharashtra assembly elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Friday addressed the select party functionaries in a close door meeting in Mumbai, with a promise to raise the storm once again.
According to a senior functionary of the party, Mr. Thackeray told his activists that he knows how to raise the storm. “I have done it before and I will do it again,” Mr. Thackeray told the gathering.
Commenting on the outflow of MNS leaders, who are joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Shiv Sena, Mr. Thackeray, said that he would better not work with people who go in a depression because of a defeat. In last three weeks, four of his former MLAs have switched sides to the BJP. A number of lower rank office bearers too are joining the Sena.
Reiterating his stand on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Thackeray said that his views on him have not changed. “He should work as the PM of India and not as the PM of Gujarat,” Mr. Thackeray said.
No MNS leader other than Mr. Thackeray was asked to address the gathering of party functionaries. Instead, the MNS chief had invited three journalists to share their views on the party, its functioning and future.
According to a senior party leader, Mr. Thackeray will open his cards on or around March 9, the ninth anniversary of the party. “The party organisation will undergo tremendous change in next one month,” the leader said.
Following the successive defeats in Lok Sabha, where all MNS candidates lost the deposit amount and in state assembly polls, where party managed to win only one seat, Mr. Thackeray had avoided public appearances. He toured a number of districts in last three months, however he rarely interacted with the media and chose closed door meetings only.
