Will announce PM candidate after Wednesday meeting, says Uddhav Thackeray
New Delhi, June 5
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that the INDIA alliance will decide on its Prime Ministerial candidate in a meeting scheduled for Wednesday. However, Thackeray also accused the BJP government of harassing Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu.
“We will announce a PM candidate tomorrow after our meeting. All those who have been harassed by BJP are coming with us. Chandrababu Naidu has been harassed by BJP also, he will also join us. Picture abhi baaki hai!” he told mediapersons.
Thackeray emphasised the INDIA alliance’s commitment to ending what he termed as dictatorship and saving the Constitution. “The day our INDIA alliance was formed, we decided that we wanted to end the dictatorship in the country and save the Constitution. We will decide on the PM candidate tomorrow. All patriots and all people who are harassed by them (BJP) will come with us. Chandrababu has also been harassed by the BJP government,” he said.
He further stated that the INDIA alliance needs to stake its claim to form the Central government, given the numbers they have.
Overall, the BJP-led NDA fell short of its ‘400 paar’ target, winning a total of 292 seats. Out of these, the BJP won 240 seats, the TDP secured 16, and the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) won 12 seats.