File photo of Raj Thackeray
In perhaps the most significant development in Maharashtra post the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray announced on Saturday at a rally in Mumbai that he will contest this year's Assembly polls.
In fact, Raj was willing to take greater responsibility by running for the Chief Minister's seat.
"People have a lot of love for and expectations from our party. If the mandate is for MNS, I will not hesitate to lead it," the MNS chief said.
The MNS chief will be the first member of the Thackeray family to contest an election. Neither Shiv Sena patriarch late Balasaheb Thackeray nor his son and current Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray have ever contest election.
The MNS, which was expected to eat into Shiv Sena's vote bank, did badly in the national election, failing to win a single seat in Maharashtra. Many of its candidates even lost deposits in the "Modi wave".
The BJP-Shiv Sena combine, on the other hand, made an emphatic comeback in Maharashtra, winning 42 of the 48 seats. Raj would hope his unexpected announcement would rejuvenate party workers whose moral was low after the rout.
But the NCP thinks otherwise. "Lok Sabha elections are different and Vidhan Sabha elections are different. We have already planned the strategy. NCP will win this time too," said Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP leader R Patil.
Raj Thackeray broke away from the Sena in 2005 to form his own party. Since then, Uddhav and he have been fierce political opponents.
The big question now is: will Uddhav take the cue and follow suit?