Eknath Shinde Mocks Uddhav Thackeray's Alliance Bid with MNS, Calls It Desperation Ahead of Municipal Polls
chief and Deputy CM
on Sunday mocked the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction (UBT) for trying to stitch up an alliance with the
ahead of municipal elections. He pointed out how the UBT - during the earlier MVA tenure- had dismissed the Raj Thackeray-led party as a "spent force."
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Shinde was speaking at an event inducting Nashik leader Vilas Shinde and supporters in Thane.
Shinde said, "When he (Uddhav) abandoned Balasaheb Thackeray's ideologies in 2019 and aligned with ideologically opposed parties for power, real Sainiks started leaving. By the next elections, their (UBT) camp could be empty... The attrition in their party has apparently forced them to now desperately seek an alliance with the very party that they once looked down on."
Shinde also mocked Uddhav's recent use of a Nana Patekar dialogue during UBT's foundation day, saying, "His (Uddhav's) present political condition is more like the jailor played by actor Asrani in the cult film Sholay, where he orders his team to head in different directions, seemingly unaware he's left alone at the end."
Political observers note that the alliance between the Thackeray cousins could impact the political standing of Shinde and his Sena and its core Marathi voter base.
It could also soften his claims as the true heir to Balasaheb's political and ideological legacy.
Defending Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Shinde criticised Thackeray's remarks against him, stating, "Shah fulfilled Balasaheb's key demands—Ram Mandir construction and Article 370 revocation… They (UBT) ignored this and rely on AI-generated videos of Balasaheb, which won't win them voters."
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Post Independence the company was owned by the Indian government since it had evolved into production of military and civil aircraft components. In 1964, the company became Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 1964, following the merger with Aeronautics India Limited. Today, the company plays a key role in India's defence aviation. The car race Even before the idea of setting up the aircraft factory, Walchand was interested in setting up a car factory in India. He identified the potential and the need for India's own car and visited the US to talk with Chrysler in 1939. There, he also visited production units of Ford and other companies. His aim was to produce 5,000 cars annually to start with and gradually scale the business. However, with the war, American companies had stalled their car production and were focusing on trucks and other military vehicles instead. This, coupled with constant delays from the government and land acquisition issues, delayed the setting up of the factory by four years. Walchand was also in a race against Birla, who wanted to set up a car factory of his own. Upon learning this, Walchand offered a partnership which could not see the light of day. He then wanted to set up the first car factory to produce cars, jeeps and trucks. With the support of the legendary M Viswesraiyya, Walchand set up Premier Automobiles in 1944. The company got the license from Chrysler to build Plymouth cars and Dodge trucks in India. The company started production in 1949 and localised production. Later, it got into a partnership with Fiat to make the Premier Padmini, which became very popular in India during the 1970s and 80s. Walchand retired in 1950 due to deteriorating health and subsequently died in 1953. While legacies of early industrialists like Tatas and Birlas continue, Walchand's name has receded in India's industrial history even though he was a rare pioneer.
