State / Aaditya Thackeray files nomination from Worli

Hundreds of Shiv Sena workers turned up in a show of support for their leader Aaditya Thackeray as he led a roadshow on his way to file his nomination from the Worli assembly constituency for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Thackeray waved and greeted his supporters from an open vehicle as his nomination rally passed through streets of Worli. Enthusiastic supporters danced on beats of the drum and waved party flags throughout the route.

“I am happy and excited. It feels great to witness the support of people,” Aaditya Thackeray said, according to news agency Asian News International.

Aaditya Thackeray, a third-generation politician, is the first person from his family to contest elections since his grandfather and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray founded the party in 1966.

The 29-year-old Thackeray had tweeted a picture of him bowing before a portrait of Bal Thackeray ahead of filing his nomination.

Aaditya had launched a state-wide ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in August to express gratitude to voters for their support in the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year and also to seek their support for the assembly poll.

The Shiv Sena last week had fielded Aaditya Thackeray from the Worli seat, which is currently held by party leader Sushil Shinde.

Allies of the Shiv Sena were also seen during the roadshow as flags of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other NDA-ally Republican Party of India (A) were seen during the rally.

The Sena and BJP are jointly contesting Maharashtra assembly polls, scheduled to be held on October 21.

The Sena will contest 124 seats and get two seats of the legislative council from the BJP quota, while the BJP will have the lion’s share — 164 seats. The seat-sharing formula has not yet been formally announced, but Sena leaders unofficially released its list of seats the party will contest, on Tuesday.

The votes will be counted on October 24.