Amit Thackeray is the son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray.
He's diffident to take the plunge in active politics, but there's no way he can shirk his political legacy. Amit Thackeray, son of MNS chief Raj Thackeray says he doesn't see active electoral politics in his near future. That hasn't stopped him from campaigning for the party for the BMC election or wading into a political quagmire - he recommends that the ban on college elections be lifted only if they can be managed without any law and order problem.
Will Thackeray junior's touch - connecting with voters via Facebook Live and racking up over 52,000 followers on Facebook in just two weeks - be enough to breathe life into Raj Thackeray's political career?
Excerpts from an interview with Amit Thackeray:
Two weeks ago you started a Facebook page. You now have nearly double the followers - 52,642 - than your cousin (Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, who has 29,080 followers)?The credit for it goes to my father. It's because of the MNS chief that I have received so many followers.
What kind of queries do people come up with on social media?Most of the time, people pose personal problems. I would not like to discuss the problems brought to me on a public forum as it would breach their confidence.
Aaditya Thackeray has hinted that he could be part of active electoral politics. Would you like to be on the same page and contest elections?I am with MNS chief Raj Thackeray. For the near future at least, I don't have any plan to contest elections.
Raj Thackeray has been talking of Nashik's development. Is it possible to replicate a similar model in Mumbai, especially for problems like encroachments?Yes, it's possible. If it can be done in Nashik, why not in Mumbai? I have taken my college friends to Nashik. They all were surprised to see the smooth roads and all the development work that the local body has done in the last five years.
What are the three elements that can change the face of Mumbai?Raj Thackeray. Raj Thackeray. Raj Thackeray.
Do you think campus elections should be revived?If I am not wrong, college and university elections were put to an end following a murder during campus polls in 1991. If students are going to be killed or injured for college polls, then it's better to not have this tradition. But, if the government is planning to revive campus polls, then it should allow them only if it's sure that the election would be a smooth affair and there would be no law and order problem.
There was a buzz in political circles of you facing some serious health issue?Yes. Even I had heard of it. But, all that are rumours. I am fit and fine, and actively campaigning for MNS candidates via Facebook Live.
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