Marring Uddhav’s party makes cousin Raj’s day

Every time he is happy, Raj Thackeray recites a dialogue from an Amitabh Bachchan movie.

Saturday's results found that his party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), had not won a single of the 12 Lok Sabha seats it contested in the state, but Raj was happy because each one of his candidates bagged more than a lakh of votes.

"Tum aapun ko itna mara. Aapun tumko do hi mara, lekin solid mara ki nahin?" Raj said, imitating Bachchan in 'Amar Akbar Anthony'. He did not name anybody, but his obvious target was cousin Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena executive president.

The mood in the MNS camp was jubilant after the election results were declared. Its candidates came second in three constituencies - Mumbai South, Kalyan and Nashik. Raj's Shivaji Park house was packed with candidates and party workers. There was nothing to celebrate, but everyone was happy.

"I never thought that Mumbaikars would vote for us in such a manner. Some had even doubted whether the crowds at our rallies would translate into votes for us. Now, they have got their answer. People backed us because we worked honestly on the issues we raised," Raj said.

Contrariwise, Uddhav was virtually isolated in his Bandra residence. Neither party leaders nor workers were seen at Shiv Sena Bhavan. A visibly shaken Uddhav said, "Post 26/11, the Congress-NCP combine winning all Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai is a big surprise. We have performed well in the rural areas, but, it seems, we were not in sync with the urban voters. We will have to mix with people and understand their feelings better."

Blaming MNS for the debacle, he added, "Now, Mumbai does not have a single Marathi MP who will raise voice for the city's problems in Parliament. Who has benefited from the division of Marathi votes? The Marathi-speaking people need to decide who they want to rule in Mumbai."

Raj rubbished the theory of vote division. "The people who voted for Congress and NCP are also Maharashtrians. So, the question of vote division doesn't arise."

"The Sena-BJP should thank us for not fielding candidates in all constituencies," taunted the MNS chief. Out of 72 assembly constituencies, MNS came first in 14. In 33 more, the party came either second or third.