Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut

MUMBAI: Even though newly elected Sena (UBT) MLAs and party functionaries urged Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray to fight local body polls alone on all seats and not be part of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that the Sena (UBT) would not walk out of MVA.
“Shiv Sena (UBT) will not separate from MVA. After the results, all three parties are shocked. All three parties are analysing and reflecting on the results in their own way. Work is underway to find the reasons for this defeat. These reasons are going towards EVMs, and all three parties will have to sit together and discuss. After the defeat, some workers definitely feel that they should have fought on their own. But in the coming period, elections to BMC and 14 municipal corporations in the state are being held. That too will have to be decided,” Raut said.
“There are still five years left for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. We contested the Lok Sabha elections as MVA, which benefited us. We cannot forget this. But unfortunately, we could not succeed in the assembly elections; we will find out the reasons for this in the coming days. If we think about the future calmly, all three parties will sit together and make decisions; there is no thought of leaving the MVA now,” Raut said.
Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve admitted on Wednesday that MLAs and functionaries want Sena UBT to fight upcoming polls alone and have expressed this view before Uddhav. “Some people have said that we must fight local body polls alone. We are not denying this. Many office bearers have said Sena UBT must fight alone. This is true that there is a view that we must build our organisation and fight on all seats alone,” Danve said.
“Some netas and functionaries have expressed a view that Sena (UBT) must build the party in all 288 assembly seats and fight those seats in the days to come. It is true that this view has been expressed. So far, we are in MVA, but even then, people have expressed the view that we must build the party in 288 assembly seats. We were together in the Lok Sabha and won seats. But now in the assembly, results are different,” Danve said.