First Raj Thackeray rally in Shivaji Park in 7 years

MNS chief Raj Thackeray will hold a huge rally at Shivaji Park ground on Gudhi Padwa on April 8, which is likely to kickstart his campaign for the BMC polls scheduled next year. MNS leaders are hopeful the rally will boost the morale of the party, which lost badly in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2014.

“We definitely have expectations from the rally, as it has been organised after 6-7 years. The Shivaji Park rallies are considered prestigious and it will be a new beginning for the party,” MNS leader Nitin Sardesai said.

When asked about MNS’ drubbing in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, Mr Sardesai criticised BJP, hinting that Raj Thackeray is likely to attack the party in his speech. “The defeat of MNS was due to the Modi wave. But now two years have passed and the expectations created by the BJP have not been met at all. It was a bad patch for us. But we will make a comeback,” he said.

Asked if the MNS chief had supported BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mr Sardesai denied it. “We had not supported BJP. We had appreciated work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat as the chief minister then. We had said that if Mr Modi is going to develop the country in the same manner then we will support his candidature as the PM. But we are disappointed,” he said.

Raj Thackeray’s party completed 10 years in March this year and has decided to address its followers on the Marathi new year of Gudhi Padwa. This is similar to the practice by Shiv Sena, which holds its annual rally on every Dussehra. Party insiders said Mr Thackeray is focussing on the BMC polls scheduled for next year and has already started building the party network in the city. “The rally will help us in boosting the morale of the party workers for the BMC polls. We are expecting Raj saheb would give us direction so that workers can start working,” a party executive said.

This will be the first rally after 2009 that MNS will hold at Shivaji Park. The party has got nod from the high court for the same, after the court had earlier restricted parties from holding any programme there. MNS had become irrelevant after losing badly in the Lok Sabha and Assembly in 2014, and party leaders are desperate to make a comeback.