Any BJP worker can defeat Aaditya Thackeray: Anurag Thakur, says BJP respects its allies
Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Anurag Thakur on Monday said any worker of BJP can defeat Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray anytime.
Thakur was speaking to reporters after meeting BJP workers from the Mumbai South Central and Kalyan Lok Sabha constituencies, currently held by the Shiv Sena but the sitting MPs have declared their allegiance to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, an ally of the BJP in the state.
Queried whether he would contest from Maharashtra if challenged by Worli MLA and former minister Aaditya Thackeray, the BJP leader said, “Any BJP worker from here can defeat Aaditya on any given day. You do not need Anurag Thakur to come down here to contest against him”.
“Why to talk about those people who cannot even save their party,” Thakur said apparently referring to a bulk of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Shinde rebelling against the Thackerays last June. The Shinde-led faction is called Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (BSS).
Aaditya, son of Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, had recently challenged chief minister Shinde to contest against him from the Worli constituency in Mumbai.
Shinde responded saying he doesn’t accept “small challenges”.
When asked why was he visiting the constituencies of the BJP’s ally BSS, Thakur said, “The BJP respects its allies. I am visiting these constituencies to strengthen our base so that we could win the next (Lok Sabha) elections. We were allies at the time of the last Lok Sabha elections”.
He said the BJP has always followed the dharma of alliance and considers the party workers are its core strength.
He said CM Shinde and Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis have very good coordination between them.
Without taking names, he said, “Some people in the country like to create disturbance by making irrelevant or erratic comments. Those remarks should not be taken seriously,” Thakur said.
The Union Minister for Sports and Information & Broadcasting further said the world is looking at India with hope.
“When two countries (Russia and Ukraine) are at war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment that ‘now is not the time for war’ was taken as a statement by the world. India is progressing and we are heading towards the golden era,” he added.
