Political rallies and rain have become synonymous in the run-up to elections, reminiscent of Sharad Pawar's resilience during an election rally in Satara. Despite heavy rain, Pawar declined an umbrella, stating, 'Varun raja has blessed NCP.' He campaigned for Satara Lok Sabha bypoll candidate Shriniwas Patil, who defeated Udayanraje Bhosale, a direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Similarly, Uddhav Thackeray had his moment in Parbhani on Tuesday, delivering a speech in the rain and earning accolades. A video of Thackeray's impassioned address amidst the downpour quickly went viral on social media.
Thackeray on Tuesday held a campaign rally in Parbhani city for Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee and sitting MP Sanjay Jadhav. Thackeray targeted the BJP on a host of issues including dynastic politics and continues delivering his speech even amidst a downpour.
"This election in Parbhani is not local. This is a fight between dictatorship and democracy," he said.
In Parbhani, Sanjay Jadhav is pitted against Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, who is the joint candidate of the Mahayuti alliance of Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP, and Panjabrao Dakh of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi from Parbhani constituency.
Thackeray alleged that ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet are disrespecting women by using foul language on television channels, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah keep mum.
"They call Shiv Sena 'nakli' (duplicate) but they don't utter a word when a minister from Marathwada region (Abdul Sattar), who is sitting with BJP, uses abusive language against women," he said.
Thackeray's "Jumla 3" jibe at BJP
Since BJP knows that Modi's face will not attract votes in Maharashtra, they are using the face of Bal Thackeray and trying to fool people, he alleged.
"People will decide whether they want dynasts or not, but when they (BJP) talk about political dynasties of Opposition parties, we will talk about the politics of monopoly," Thackeray added.
In a jibe at BJP, Thackeray said a new "season" (episode) has started on OTT platforms called "Jumla 3".
"Earlier, two seasons came in 2014 and 2019 (referring to elections) and the third one is 2024. Actors, villains, and storywriters are the same. How many times such seasons are to be seen? It should be stopped. They have spoiled the entire country and Maharashtra," Thackeray said.
Parbhani will vote in the second phase of the general elections on April 26. In the 2019 elections, Shiv Sena (undivided) nominee Sanjay Jadhav won the Parbhani seat by polling 5,38,941 votes against NCP (undivided) candidate Rajesh Vitekar who got 4,96,742 votes. Shiv Sena (undivided) had fought the Parbhani seat in an alliance with the BJP. In the 2014 elections, the Shiv Sena (undivided) nominee Sanjay Jadhav emerged victorious by polling 5,78,455 votes against NCP nominee Vijay Bhamle who got 4,51,300 votes. This time too, the Shiv Sena had an alliance with BJP and contested the elections riding the 'Modi wave'.
