Ending months of speculation, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will contest the state assembly elections due in October. The party, which has seen electoral setbacks and massive attrition from the ranks, is expected to fight over 125 seats. Raj will launch the MNS election campaign on October 5, though the venue of the public meeting is yet to be decided. On Monday, Raj met prospective candidates from the party at the MIG Club in Bandra East. The list of nominees is likely to be declared from Tuesday onwards. “Some workers have already been asked informally to begin preparations for contesting the elections. Raj Thackeray has spoken to some of them personally,” said a senior MNS leader. He added that in the Monday meeting, Raj told his cadre that “his inner voice says the MNS will to taste success in these elections.” Earlier, the MNS seemed to be in two minds over contesting the polls or staying out like in the Lok Sabha. However, a section of the party leadership insisted that opting out may lead to an adverse impact on the cadre and committed voters. The electoral process also created a “reward economy” for grassroots cadre, who campaigned for candidates. The MNS is likely to focus on seats in the Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik belt. The party’s first-rung leadership, like former legislators Bala Nandgaonkar and Nitin Sardesai, are likely to sit out this time, with preference being given to young blood. The assembly polls are seen as a semi-final for the BMC elections due in early 2022, where both nativist parties, the MNS, and the Shiv Sena, have a lot at stake. The presence of the MNS in the fray may fracture the votes of the Shiv Sena and BJP, especially in Mumbai and neighbouring areas. During the Lok Sabha polls, Raj had launched a surrogate campaign for the Congress-NCP and against the BJP-Shiv Sena, using audio-visual tools. However, despite this, the opposition-led front was trounced in all seats in Mumbai and the Thane-Palghar-Nashik belt, where the MNS has some residual influence. The MNS has faced severe electoral reverses since 2014, and a major loss of face in the BMC, where six of its seven corporators defected to the Shiv Sena. While the party secured 13 seats in the 2009 assembly polls, it got just one legislator elected in 2014. However, the MLA, Sharad Sonawane from Junnar in Pune, has defected to the Shiv Sena. Most MNS legislators elected in 2009 have now migrated to other parties like Pravin Darekar, Mangesh Sangale, Vasant Geete, Ram Kadam (BJP) and Shishir Shinde (Shiv Sena).

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