Mumbai:
In the battle of the Thackerays, Raj gets a thumbs-up from veteran politician Sharad Pawar. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief tells NDTV: "Raj is more charismatic than his cousin Uddhav."
But the MNS chief is certainly not an option for government formation, says Pawar.
In what may be indicating the MNS's growing popularity, Pawar says that many young party workers are now deserting the Shiv Sena to join the MNS.
Yet the NCP does not intend to forge an alliance with the MNS. "No question of allying with MNS," Pawar says.
The NCP chief says his party is not vying for the post of chief minister in Maharashtra where polls are on to elect the new government.
The MNS, which polled over 12 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik, is seen as a factor which is likely to influence the state politics after results.
Congress has been ruling the state for the last ten years in alliance with the NCP. If MNS could hurt the chances of Opposition Sena-BJP combine to wrest power, the ruling coalition has also to worry about the large number of rebels.
Congress is contesting 174 leaving two seats for RPI (Gavai) group while NCP is contesting 114 seats.
The voting to elect the 12th Legislative Assembly is on.
But the MNS chief is certainly not an option for government formation, says Pawar.
In what may be indicating the MNS's growing popularity, Pawar says that many young party workers are now deserting the Shiv Sena to join the MNS.
Yet the NCP does not intend to forge an alliance with the MNS. "No question of allying with MNS," Pawar says.
The NCP chief says his party is not vying for the post of chief minister in Maharashtra where polls are on to elect the new government.
The MNS, which polled over 12 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik, is seen as a factor which is likely to influence the state politics after results.
Congress has been ruling the state for the last ten years in alliance with the NCP. If MNS could hurt the chances of Opposition Sena-BJP combine to wrest power, the ruling coalition has also to worry about the large number of rebels.
Congress is contesting 174 leaving two seats for RPI (Gavai) group while NCP is contesting 114 seats.
The voting to elect the 12th Legislative Assembly is on.
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