'Will back any candidate announced by Congress, NCP (SP),' says Uddhav Thackeray at MVA meet

Mumbai: As the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) launched the campaign for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls on Friday Uddhav Thackeray made a strong pitch for its chief ministerial face of the alliance before hitting the ground.

The launch of campaign of the MVA comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) comes a day after the Independence Day festivities when it held a meeting of top leaders and office bearers at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai.

In his address, Thackeray, a former chief minister, made it clear that he would support any candidate announced by the Congress and NCP (SP).

The development comes amid reports that Thackeray could be made MVA’s campaign chief.

Pawar, who is the chief architect of the MVA, however, remained silent on the issue of the chief ministership.

State NCP President Nana Patil, however, said that the leadership of the three parties would sit together and take a call on the issue of chief ministership.

During the meeting, the MVA leadership lashed out at the BJP-led NDA dispensation at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah besides attacking the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar-led Maha Yuti government in Maharashtra and its policies.

“I will back any candidate announced by Congress and NCP (SP) as the chief ministerial face of the MVA. I don't have the feeling that I am fighting for myself but for the rights of Maharashtra," Thackeray said, adding that the chief ministerial candidate must be decided first, rather than by the logic of the party that wins the most seats in the elections.

Thackeray, who was earlier part of the NDA, said that he has got fingers burnt because of its then alliance partner BJP.

“After our experience of alliance with BJP, we are of the view that we should not follow the policy of chief minister’s post for the party with the greatest number of MLAs in the alliance. In the elections, when we had an alliance with BJP, we have experienced that to make the maximum number of MLAs, parties themselves try to put their other allies' candidates down. So, I will not be in favour that the party with the most number of MLAs should get the chief minister post," he said.

Thackeray said the system of announcing the chief minister from the party which won most seats encourages internal conflict.