Maharashtra Has Faith In Thackerays, Will Defeat BJP-Shinde In Polls: Arvind Sawant

Balasaheb Thackeray's family may no longer have the Shiv Sena party name and symbol but has strong support among the people who will teach a lesson to the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in elections, senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Arvind Sawant said on Monday.
     
"They (opponents) cannot take Balasaheb Thackeray out of people's hearts," he said and claimed that the Maharashtra government was not holding municipal elections due to fear of "defeat".
     
"There is a people's court bigger than the courts,’’ Sawant said, adding the party's roots were strong in Maharashtra.
     
The remarks by Sawant, a Lok Sabha member, and former Union Minister, came days after the Election Commission recognised the outfit led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena and allotted the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to it.
     
"Even when Balasaheb Thackeray was alive, the BJP used to make such efforts. They kept trying to destroy Shiv Sena. But Shiv Sena's roots are so strong that it can never succeed in it," he said in an interview with PTI-Bhasha.
     
Sawant described Shinde, who split the Shiv Sena between June last year, as a “traitor” and alleged that he was part of the BJP’s “game” to destroy the party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray.
     
"They took away the election symbol and snatched the name, but the love for the Thackeray family in the hearts of the people can never be taken away," he said.
     
He claimed that there was a lot of anger among the people against the BJP and Shinde and they were waiting for the elections to teach them a lesson.
     
Sawant, the national spokesperson of the Shiv Sena (Udhhav Balasaheb Thackeray), said it was necessary to defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to protect democracy and urged all the opposition parties to come together to achieve the goal.
     
"People of Maharashtra have faith in the Thackeray family... Just as there are places of faith and reverence, so is Matoshree’’ said Sawant, the Lok Sabha member from South Mumbai.
     
‘Matoshree’ is the residence of the Thackeray family in suburban Mumbai.
     
Sawant said that even though the party's name (Shiv Sena) and election symbol (arrow and bow) have been "taken away", the BJP-Shinde alliance will have to face defeat in the people's court.
     
Sawant said the entire Maharashtra was associated with the Thackeray family which is known to live up to the word it gives to the people.
     
"This is a family whose heart beats for the poor, it talks about giving them justice and if needed, it takes to the streets for them and the country," he said.
     
Asked whether Thackeray had failed to sense such a big revolt in the party, Sawant said the party supremo understood everything but never felt that Shinde could stoop to the level of breaking the party.
     
He alleged that the BJP's strategy of "inducement and fear of investigating agencies" had further widened the split in Shiv Sena ranks.
     
Sawant claimed there was a lot of anger among the people against the BJP and Shinde and the voters were waiting for the elections to teach them a lesson.