Raj Thackeray is star campaigner for Congress-NCP

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, April 5

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray will be the 'star campaigner' for the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance in Maharashtra.

According to details put out by the two parties, Thackeray will be holding at least six rallies in support of senior leaders of the alliance like Sushilkumar Shinde (Solapur), Supriya Sule (Baramati), Sameer Bhujbal (Nashik), Ashok Chavan (Nanded) and Ajit Pawar's son Parth (Maval).

 In Mumbai, Thackeray's rally is expected to have Milind Deora (Mumbai South), Priya Dutt (Mumbai North Central), Urmila Matondkar (Mumbai North) and NCP's Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East).

While senior Congress and NCP leaders are unlikely to share the stage with Thackeray, several candidates from the two parties are expected to be on stage with him. The rallies are being planned as a purely MNS affair, according to sources in Raj Thackeray's party.

The MNS is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, although Thackeray insists that the party would support candidates who could win against the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.

Though MNS has been steadily losing ground in Maharashtra, with the party having just a corporator in the BMC and no representation in parliament or the state legislature, Thackeray is wanted by the Congress-NCP for his oratorical skills.

In the last Lok Sabha elections MNS polled merely 7 lakh votes in nine seats. However in a tight contest, votes from MNS supporters are seen making a difference.