Sena (UBT) leader opposes MNS tie-up; says Uddhav will lose support of Hindi speakers, Muslims

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishore Tiwari on Saturday opposed any alliance with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena saying recent victories of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party in the Lok Sabha polls and on Mumbai's assembly seats were due to substantial support of Hindi speaking voters and Muslims.

The statement from the former Shiv Sena (UBT) national spokesperson and ex-chairperson of Kisan Mission came a day after Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said his party and Raj Thackeray-led MNS will contest the coming civic elections in Mumbai and elsewhere together.

"The Thackeray brothers will contest the municipal corporation elections in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Kalyan-Dombivali together and win. The strength of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray is the strength of the unity of the Marathi-speakers. No power cannot break the iron fist of 'Marathi manus' now," Raut had told reporters in Nashik.

Talking to PTI Videos, Tiwari said he had written to Uddhav Thackeray following Raut's statement.

"An alliance with MNS will be damaging for Shiv Sena (UBT) as recent victories in Lok Sabha polls and on assembly seats across Mumbai were secured substantially with the support of Hindi speaking voters and Muslims. Raj Thackeray has pursued an agenda targeting non-Marathi communities and Muslims," he claimed.

The tie up with the MNS would alienate these segments, which would harm the Shiv Sena (UBT), Tiwari claimed.

"The MNS does not possess a meaningful vote bank," he said while alleging the proposed tie-up was a "BJP conspiracy" to defeat the Shiv Sena (UBT) in civic bodies of Mumbai and 11 other cities.

He also said the MNS had triggered a Marathi-Hindi row by assaulting those not well-versed in the state's language.

The party also spearheaded a campaign against 'azaan' from mosques, Tiwari said.

He urged Uddhav Thackeray to not become a "toy in the hands of the BJP" and instead consolidate ties with the Congress and other Opposition parties.