Raj Thackeray will address rallies this month but party not eyeing Lok Sabha polls

MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who had announced that his party will not contest the Lok Sabha election, but will campaign against the BJP-Shiv Sena combine, is expected to address five to six rallies this month, sources said on Thursday. Thackeray is unlikely to formally join forces with the Congress and the NCP, but his campaigning will help the electoral cause of the grand alliance led by them, sources in these parties said.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is not a part of the grand alliance. According to an MNS leader, Thackeray is set to hold rallies in Solapur, Nanded, Maval, Baramati and Satara constituencies.

Congress leaders Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan are contesting from the Solapur and Nanded seats respectively. NCP's Supriya Sule, Udayanraje Bhosale and Parth Pawar are in the race from Baramati, Satara and Maval constituencies respectively.

Thackeray may also canvass in Nashik, Mumbai North-East (Sanjay Patil), Mumbai North-Central (Priya Dutt) and Mumbai North (Urmila Matondkar), the MNS leader said, adding that the details were yet to be worked out. Sources in the NCP said, Thackeray was unlikely to openly take sides with the party openly or share the stage with them, but his campaign against the ruling combine would eventually help the grand alliance.

"In the previous election, the MNS had contested from certain seats and declared outside support to the BJP. It had polled propitious votes then, not adequate to win a sit for a candidate, but certainly, something that can bridge the deficit," the sources said. The MNS, which had unsuccessfully contested nine seats in the previous outing, had polled 7,08,010 votes -- that is 1.47 per cent of the total valid votes.