'I Respect Balasaheb Thackeray, Will Be The First to Help Uddhav if He's In Trouble,' Says PM Narendra Modi

“I can never forget the love and affection of Balasaheb Thackeray towards me,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi when asked if he considers former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray as the rightful heir to Balasaheb Thackeray. In an interview with TV9, PM Modi said he will always be grateful to Balasaheb Thackeray and can never speak against him and added he’ll be the first to help Uddhav if he’s in trouble.

Responding to the question, PM Modi said that biologically, Uddhav Thackeray is Balasaheb’s son and one cannot change that. He said as far as relations with the family are concerned, “I called them immediately when Balasaheb was unwell. I spoke to his wife regularly when he was in bad health. She called me before his surgery also. In future too, if something happens or Uddhav Thackeray needs help, I will be the first one to rush to his rescue.”

The Prime Minister said that giving the Chief Minister’s chair to Shiv Sena, despite the Bharatiya Janata Party being the single largest party, was his tribute to Balasaheb.

He added that it is respect for Balasaheb that does not allow him to speak against Balasaheb even though the BJP and Shiv Sena fought the last election as opponents. “We fought against each other in the last election. I had not spoken a single word about Balasaheb in that election. I had publicly said that no matter how much Uddhav Thackeray abuses me, I will not speak because I have deep respect for Balasaheb and I will respect him for the rest of my life,” PM Modi said.

The Sena-BJP Fallout in Maharashtra

The Lok Sabha battle in Maharashtra is witnessing two factions of the Shiv Sena and the NCP. While one faction of both parties is fighting elections with the BJP as part of the Mahayuti alliance, the other is fighting polls with Congress as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

The Shiv Sena and BJP, that had been in an alliance since 1989, broke ties with each other in 2019 after Maharashtra Assembly Elections. It was reported that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena broke ties with the BJP after disagreements over the CM post in the state. Uddhav joined hands with the Congress and NCP in the state and formed the government, taking over as the CM.

In 2022, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, along with several party MLAs, broke away from Uddhav’s faction and joined hands with the BJP. This was followed by a trust vote, leading to the fll of the Uddhav Thackeray government, while Shinde was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Mahayuti alliance between Sena’s Shinde faction, the BJP and NCP’s Ajit Pawar faction.

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