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To contest or not to contest, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leaves cadre guessing

As Assembly polls near, functionaries confused over uncertainty surrounding party's future

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As the curtains go up on the Maharashtra state Assembly elections, the leaders and cadre of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are confused about whether the party will contest the polls or stay out of it like during the Lok Sabha.

MNS functionaries say they had not received any feelers so far from their leadership on whether they will be contesting the polls. The code of conduct for the elections may be announced this week.

"There is no decision so far on contesting the elections," said a senior MNS leader, adding this had led to unease in the rank-and-file. "There are political careers at stake, that is the problem in the MNS staying out of a contest," he admitted. 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. After the elections, Raj announced he would forge a front against the deployment of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and also met officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Congress president Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. However, an MNS rally against EVMs, which was scheduled for August 21, was postponed due to the rains and flood situation in the state, but the party has not announced a fresh date for it.

"The Lok Sabha experience makes it clear that canvassing for the Congress-NCP is not very helpful. Keeping away from contesting the polls by claiming EVMs can be manipulated will also not help as these machines are here to stay. At the most, we can seek greater transparency," the MNS leader said.

Polls So Near, Yet So Far

 MNS functionaries say they had not received any feelers so far from their leadership on whether they will be contesting the polls
 An MNS rally against EVMs, which was scheduled for August 21, was postponed due to the rains and flood situation in the state, but the party has not announced a fresh date for it
 The code of conduct for the elections may be announced later this week. If the party kept away from contesting the polls, it could lead to its workers dispersing to other parties

Another MNS functionary explained that the electoral process created a "reward economy" for grassroots cadre, who campaigned for candidates. If the party kept away from contesting the polls, it could lead to these workers dispersing to other political outfits. The Assembly polls are seen as the semi-final for the BMC elections due in early 2022, where both the nativist parties, the MNS and the Shiv Sena have a lot at stake.

"If he wants to keep his flock together, Raj must contest the elections," said a senior Shiv Sena leader. He opined that last month's Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to Raj and MNS leaders Nitin Sardesai and Rajan Shirodkar in the 2005 Kohinoor mill land deal, indicated the BJP wanted to create sympathy for Raj. The MNS could use the narrative about Raj being victimized to gain votes, thus affecting Sena's chances. This arrangement could help the BJP sail past in tough contests in seats where the MNS was in the fray if its alliance with the Shiv Sena broke.

Raj had emerged as a trenchant critic of PM Modi- during the Lok Sabha campaign. This has led MNS leaders to claim that he was being "targeted" for his political position. The MNS is also said to be eager to get into the Congress-NCP camp for an electoral adjustment or alliance.

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