After organising Raj Thackeray rally, UP man to contest from Kalyan

Months after he got MNS chief Raj Thackeray to address a gathering of North Indians, the event's organiser Vinay Dubey is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Kalyan as an independent candidate. Dubey claims that apart from North Indians, who account for substantial numbers in the constituency, his initiative will ensure support from the MNS' 'Maharashtra Sainiks' who consider him one of their own.

Dubey is contesting against the Shiv Sena's incumbent MP Dr Shrikant Shinde, who is the son of Thane strongman and state minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP's Babaji Patil. On December 2, Dubey, who heads the Uttar Bharatiya Mahapanchayat, had invited Raj to speak to a gathering of North Indians — the first such outreach by the MNS chief — whose cadre have attacked migrants from Hindi-speaking states in the past.

"Around 8 lakh of the about 19 lakh voter base in Kalyan comprise of North Indians. They do not get equal opportunities or basic infrastructure. From a political point of view, North Indians serve only as workers (with little opportunities for upward mobility). There is no North Indian face of note in areas like Kalyan and Dombivali. Hence, this is an effort to assert the collective presence of North Indians," said Dubey.

"The grassroots level MNS workers are with me," claimed Dubey, who heads the Uttar Bharatiya Mahapanchayat, adding that his event with Raj had helped unite Hindi and Marathi speakers.

The Airoli native, whose family hails from Bhadoi in Uttar Pradesh, said he speaks fluent Marathi and was educated in the language, and hence was liked by MNS workers.

"Raj saheb is holding rallies against the BJP but has not officially declared support for the Congress- NCP. He is asking people to vote for those who can defeat (BJP- Shiv Sena candidates). Hence, around 25 to 30 per cent MNS workers, who feel that I am also a Maharashtra Sainik and thus, one of their own, are working for me. If the NCP nominee is elected from Kalyan, he will remain with his own party. However, if I am elected, I may join the MNS officially," claimed Dubey.

Dubey, who runs a business providing technical support to e-commerce websites, said if elected, he would ensure the construction of a hospital at Diva and will stand by unsuspecting buyers who purchased houses in illegal buildings.

Incidentally, this is Dubey's second foray in electoral politics. In 2012, Dubey, who was then with the NCP, had contested the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections from the Varanasi North constituency and had lost.