Mumbai: The forthcoming Vidhan Sabha polls will prove an acid test for 29-year-old Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, who is likely to take the plunge into electoral politics for the first time.
Being touted as the party’s chief ministerial candidate, the Thackeray scion shoulders a huge burden to deliver the goods in the Assembly elections.
After the Lok Sabha polls, the Sena has been making systematic efforts to project the junior Thackeray as its face in the state.
The Sena also held a Jan Ashirwad Yatra, a statewide rally, which was headed by Aaditya with an aim to reach out to the masses, especially the youth.
Aaditya, who is also head of party’s youth wing Yuva Sena, has indicated that he wants to contest the polls.
Recently, he had said that he wanted to raise people’s issues and grievances at Mantralaya.
If Aaditya contests the upcoming Assembly polls, he would be the first member of the Thackeray family to contest an election. The Sena has also started looking for a safe constituency for him to contest.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has also welcomed the possible entry of Aaditya into the electoral politics.
A senior Sena leader said that going by the response he received during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Aaditya has already proved himself a leader.
“What is more important is that Aadityaji has been accepted by the people as a leader. He has become mature and his speech has also improved. He speaks the language of today’s generation,” he said.
According to political experts, though it will be easy for Aaditya to get elected, his major challenge will be to get the majority of his party’s candidates to win in the Assembly polls — slated for October 21 — and prove his mettle as a leader.
