BJP, Shinde Sena will contest together in Kalyan in next Lok Sabha polls, says Anurag Thakur

Thane, Feb 14 (PTI) The Eknath Shinde-led Balasehabanchi Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party will together contest in Kalyan in the next Lok Sabha elections, said Union minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday, dismissing claims that the BSS-BJP government in Maharashtra won’t last till then.

Thakur said no one should worry about aspects like which of the partners will contest and who will be the candidate. “One thing is for sure that this time we will win the election with a big margin,” he said.

Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde had won from the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 as a candidate of the undivided Shiv Sena.

This was Thakur’s second visit to Kalyan in the past six months where the BJP is trying to strengthen its organisation.

When it comes to Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a lot with an open heart for the state’s development, he said.

Asked about the Opposition’s claim that the present government will collapse anytime, the minister, who holds the Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports portfolios, said they will get only disappointment. “We (the government) won’t collapse but get elected with a huge margin (in the next election), he said.

On a question about Shiv Sena (UBT) leader calling Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP leadership “ajoobe” (marvels), Thakur said one should not pay much attention to what he comments. “Let them explain the frauds committed by them first and then comment on us,” he said.

With reference to certain demands that members of the minority community be given preference in the Army, he said candidates are selected in the field of sports or Army based on their calibre and performance and not caste, creed or religion.

The minister said he will make more visits to the constituency to make the organisation strong. “The party realises that it survives and grows only on the contribution of its activists,” he said.