According to Aaditya Thackeray, the Shiv Sena will soon contest all elections in Goa

Aaditya Thackeray, a Shiv Sena leader, said on Saturday that his party had previously been unable to focus on Goa due to its friendship with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but that after the latter "back-stabbed," the Sena has decided to contest all future elections in the coastal state, from panchayat to general elections.

 

He claimed that Goa requires the Sena because the BJP, despite being in power at both the federal and state levels, has failed to deliver long-term development. Following the 2019 Maharashtra elections, the Shiv Sena split from the BJP and teamed up with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress to establish the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the neighbouring state.

 

The Sena is running in the Goa Assembly elections alongside the NCP on February 14. This time, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena has nominated ten candidates in Goa. After Utpal Parrikar, son of late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, chose to run as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by the BJP, the party withdrew its candidate Shailendra Velingkar from the Panaji seat.

 

Thackeray, speaking at a press conference here, said, "Due to its alliance with the BJP, the Shiv Sena has not focused on Goa in the past. However, in light of recent political developments in which the BJP has backstabbed the Sena, we have decided to run in all future Goa elections. From here, we will run for panchayat, assembly, and Lok Sabha elections... Shiv Sena is required in Goa." He claimed that the Sena has begun contesting elections outside of Maharashtra recently.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @AUThackeray