Maharastra elections: MNS's Raj Thackeray opens up on why the party decided to field his son Amit Thackeray from Mahim

MNS leader Raj Thackeray has opened up about his party's decision to field his son Amit Thackeray from Mahim, stating that it was Amit himself who expressed willingness to contest from the Assembly seat.

The MNS leader said during a campaign meeting at Mahim on Sunday that Amit informed his party of his interest in contesting polls during a meeting of MNS leaders and general secretaries organised a few months ago. "In that meeting, Bala Nandgaonkar asked who all were interested in contesting the Assembly elections. Amit, who was in the meeting, said, ''Every leader should stand for election. If the party orders me tomorrow, I will stand for election myself.' Though I came to know about it, I didn't pay much attention to the news," Raj told his supporters. 

Raj added that it was during another meeting that he began seriously contemplating the prospects of Amit's candidacy. "During another meeting of MNS leaders, which I too attended, a few of the leaders suggested fielding Amit from Bhandup Assembly Constituency. Only then did I realise the seriousness of the issue," said Raj.

He and his wife Sharmila then spoke to his son Amit to seek his stance on contesting the elections. " I asked Amit whether he wanted to stand for elections. Amit said, 'If you say so, I will stand for election. If you say no, I will not stand."

It took two more meetings of MNS for Raj to finally decide on the decision. "I did not oppose his decision. Neither my father nor Balasaheb Thackeray imposed anything on us. We are never told to do or not to do something. I don't tell my kids these things either. So I thought, if Amit wants to stand for the election, he should contest the election. But I never wanted to contest elections," he added.

Raj added that nobody will have to make an appointment to meet Amit. He added that he has instructed every MNS worker to give their contact numbers to local people so that they can call in times of an issue. 

Amit will face Shiv Sena (Shinde faction)'s candidate and two-time MLA Sada Sarvankar while Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Mahesh Sawant, who has a stronghold in the constituency.