Bhaskar Jadhav, promoted last week by Uddhav Thackeray as one of the Shiv Sena’s netas (leaders), launched a blistering attack on the BJP on Sunday, saying the party is likely to foment communal trouble in Maharashtra in the run-up to the elections to the BMC and other urban and rural local bodies.
Jadhav, who has launched a state-wide tour to argue the case of the Uddhav Thackeray faction after the faction led by Eknath Shinde broke away to form a government with the BJP, said, “If you look at the political situation of the country, you will notice that in states where the BJP came to power, there have been communal riots before elections. This is history.
“All options to finish the Shiv Sena have been exhausted. As a last resort, communal riots may be attempted in the state, as was done in the past two-and-a-half years, because they [the BJP] want to win the BMC elections,” said the legislator from Guhaghar.
Jadhav also urged the Muslim community not to react to any provocation.
Jadhav’s accusation comes after the BJP, with its new ally Shinde, announced its goal of winning 200-plus seats in the BMC and anointing its member as mayor of the country’s richest civic body.
Jadhav, however, asserted that the Thackeray-led Sena will win in the BMC as Mumbaikars have not taken kindly to the treacherous manner in which he was toppled.
“Uddhav Thackeray’s gentle and decent leadership has impressed people of all castes and religions,” he said. “The Muslim community also hailed his leadership, which is something the BJP is unable to digest.”
He said the BJP split the Sena by taking away 40 of its legislators, but since then “four lakh people have supported the Shiv Sena in each region. Therefore, the BJP can go to any extreme.”
