In a surprise development, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said he will contesting the assembly elections in Maharashtra, which are likely to be held in November.
Addressing his first public rally after the Lok Sabha polls, where his party could not win a single seat, Thackeray declared his desire to contest State Assembly elections and form a government if he receives the mandate.
People voted for Narendra Modi and not for the BJP and its allies, he pointed out.
If the other parties think the MNS is finished due to the electoral defeat, it will prove them wrong through the Assembly elections, he said.
Till date, Raj, who draws his political lineage from his uncle and Shiv Sena founder the late Bal Thackeray, has never stood for any public office.
Raj’s estranged cousin and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has also kept his distance from public offices, as did Bal Thackeray.