Uddhav Thackeray Ready to Support New Leadership for Maharashtra CM: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut stated that Uddhav Thackeray never expressed a desire to become Chief Minister again, and is ready to support a suitable candidate from Congress or NCP. This comes amidst discussions on the 2024 elections and concerns over election timings due to security needs in Jammu and Kashmir.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut announced on Saturday that party chief Uddhav Thackeray has never expressed a desire to assume the role of Chief Minister again. Raut emphasized Thackeray's willingness to support a competent candidate from Congress or NCP. Speaking to media at Nagpur airport, Raut clarified, "Uddhav Thackeray did not come forward even in 2019; everyone unitedly made him CM. Now, talking about 2024, Uddhav Thackeray never claimed he'd become CM. If Congress or NCP has a leader to propose, Thackeray is ready to support them, but he remains in the hearts of Maharashtra's people."

Uddhav Thackeray, on Friday, expressed his opposition to the tradition of granting the Chief Minister's post to the party with the most MLAs. "The election commission should announce Maharashtra elections today; we are ready. We'll contest as Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi. We will decide on the CM candidate, be it Prithviraj Chavan or Pawar Saheb, and I will support that nominee," Thackeray stated.

Thackeray continued, "After our alliance experience with BJP, we reject the policy that the party with the most MLAs should get the CM post. In the last elections, our alliance with BJP showed that parties might undermine allies to have a larger number of MLAs. Therefore, I do not support the most-MLAs policy for the CM post." Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar explained that a high demand for security forces in Jammu and Kashmir prevents announcing Maharashtra elections now. He noted that multiple states, including Haryana, Jharkhand, and Delhi, also have upcoming elections, affecting overall resource allocation.

The approaching 2024 Lok Sabha polls have energized the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) capturing seven seats, Congress 13, and NCP-SP one, totalling 17 seats for the alliance. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)