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Published 02:35 IST, October 11th 2019

Raj Thackeray appeals voters to make MNS 'powerful opposition party'

Raj Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President, while addressing a public rally, appealed to the voters to make MNS a strong opposition party

Reported by: Manjiri Chitre
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Raj Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President, while addressing a public rally on Thursday, appealed to the people to make his party "a strong opposition party." He said, "Only MNS MLAs can raise your questions in the assembly. We will force the government to respond to your questions. Unless you have a strong opposition party like MNS, the government will not work for you." 

Concedes defeat

Addressing the crowd, the MNS President conceded that his party did not have sufficient strength to form the government. This is leading to the party to remain in the opposition benches, he stated. Thackeray urged the people to support and elect his party's candidates to make the party a "powerful opposition party." Reports stated that according to him, it is necessary to have a strong opposition to nurture democracy. 

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MNS rallies

According to Raj Thackeray, he will be addressing several rallies across different districts in the coming days. The rallies will be based on "Seeking people's support to be elected as the strong opposition party." The inaugural rally that was scheduled in Pune on Wednesday had to be cancelled due to heavy rains. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) carried out its first election rally in Mumbai on Thursday. According to reports, although MNS did not contest in the Lok Sabha 2019 elections, Thackeray had created his trademark rallies. 

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Maharashtra Assembly elections

According to the announcement by the Election Commission, the 288-seats Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on October 21. It will be held in a single phase and the counting procedure would be conducted on October 24. The Election Commission chief Sunil Arora also announced that the last date of nomination is on October 4. Besides the MNS, there is the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena's alliance, opposition Congress-Nationalist Congress Party, Prakash Ambedkar's Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Vidarbha Sangharsh Samiti, and other forces vying for the electorate's attention.

Read | Maharashtra elections: Rahul Gandhi to hold rally 6 days before polls

Read | MNS: Raj Thackeray to announce candidate list in upcoming party meet

Updated 08:03 IST, October 11th 2019

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