As the fifth and final phase of the Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra moves to Mumbai city and its outlying areas, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces a litmus test in its decision to take the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray on board its crowded bandwagon, which already includes Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
While the BJP has not given Mr. Raj Thackeray any Lok Sabha seat for his party to contest, the MNS chief, who announced his “unconditional support” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has begun vigorously campaigning for the ruling Mahayuti’s candidates, his distinctive oratorical skills in full display during public addresses lampooning his opponents, particularly Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.
While the BJP leadership feels that having a Thackeray clan member on their side is an undeniable “psychological boost” against Uddhav’s Sena (UBT), observers feel that the MNS could well hamstring the BJP in the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai city and those in the Thane area, which go to the polls on May 20.
