He also dared the BJP to call mid-term polls in Maharashtra and said Fadnavis-led regime would be singed by unrest among farmers
Indicating that the Shiv Sena may consider breaking ranks with the BJP in the Presidential polls, party president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday charged that the Modi government pitched for a Dalit face with vote bank politics in mind.
He also dared the BJP to call mid-term polls in Maharashtra and said Fadnavis-led regime would be singed by unrest among farmers.
"If a Dalit is being pitched for Dalit votes, then we are not interested...If the welfare of the country is to be ensured instead of Dalits alone, then the Shiv Sena is with you regardless of the candidate. But we we will never support vote bank politics as it may help the party but hurts the country," said Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, speaking at the party's foundation day convention here on Monday.
The Shiv Sena had earlier floated the names of RSS Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat and agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan for the top post.
"I am holding a meeting of Shiv Sena leaders tomorrow to take a decision on this," said Uddhav. He added that the party had pushed Bhagwat's name to accomplish the idea of a 'Hindu Rashtra' and push legislation like the Uniform Civil Code and that of Swaminathan to ensure farmers' welfare.
Uddhav said that while the BJP was considering mid-term polls in Maharashtra, he was more worried about rising agrarian distress and farmers' suicides.
"Don't feel you will always win... things are changing," he warned the BJP, adding that farmers anger would lead to it being defeated if snap elections were called. Uddhav dared his ally to announce mid-term polls and the Sena was prepared to meet the challenge.
If the Sena strikes out on its own in the Presidential elections, this will not be for the first time that it will break ranks with the BJP. It supported incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee, who was the nominee of the Congress-led UPA in 2012 over the BJP-backed PA Sangma.
The Shiv Sena, which is seen as the BJP's natural ally due to the common Hindutva agenda, in 2007 had supported incumbent Pratibha Patil over the BJP's Bhaironsingh Shekhawat as she was a Maharashtrian. In 1997, Sena propped up former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) TN Seshan as its Presidential candidate against KR Narayanan.
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