Maharashtra Polls: Amit Shah Echoes Modi's 'Bala Saheb Challenge,' Fires 'Real Shiv Sena' Salvo At Uddhav

Union Home Minister Amit Shah waves to the crowd during the public meeting for the second phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections, in Dumri on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

Maharashtra Assembly Polls: With Maharashtra Assembly polls knocking the door, the Bharatiya Janata Party is going all out against the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), leaving no stone unturned in the race to the Chief Minister’s chair.

The latest attack from the ruling camp Mahayuti alliance against the MVA came from Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah, who echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s challenge to senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi to praise former CM Uddhav Thackeray’s father and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

He also dared Gandhi to praise Veer Savarkar. In the run-up to the Assembly polls, Shah addressed rallies in Hingoli and Yavatmal. 

Launching a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, Shah on Friday called the opposition alliance in the state an “army of liars.”

"Aghadi is an army of liars. Rahul Baba, please praise your friend Uddhav Thackeray's father, the great Balasaheb Thackeray, for two minutes. Uddhav ji, if you have the courage, get Rahul Baba to speak two good words about Veer Savarkar and Balasaheb," the former BJP chief said while addressing a rally in Hingoli.

The Union Home Minister said the assembly polls in Maharashtra would determine whether the state follows the legacy of Shivaji Maharaj or the path of Aurangzeb for the next five years.

"The upcoming election will decide whether Maharashtra follows the path of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Veer Savarkar or the path of Aurangzeb. Our Mahayuti alliance has chosen the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Veer Savarkar without any hesitation, while the Aghadi alliance seems to be an Aurangzeb fan club. Modi ji built the Ram temple and also reconstructed the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, which had been demolished by Aurangzeb," Shah said.

On Friday, Amit Shah trained his guns on MVA partners, saying that Congress and the undivided NCP led by Sharad Pawar had "diverted and kept hanging" the issue of the construction of the grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

He also targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray, claiming that the party led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is "the real Shiv Sena."

"On one side, Uddhavji says that my Shiv Sena (Shiv Sena-UBT) is the real Shiv Sena. I want to ask him, Can the real Shiv Sena ever oppose renaming Aurangabad as Shambhaji Nagar? ... Uddhav Babu, your Sena is just Uddhav Sena, and the real Shiv Sena is with the BJP," Shah said.

Shiv Sena saw a split in 2022 with Eknath Shinde leading a group of leaders and MLAs in revolt against Uddhav Thackeray, which also led to the toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Shah said the pran prathishta of the Ram Temple was done during the tenure of the Modi government. Maharashtra will go to the polls on November 20, and votes will be counted on November 23.

(With agencies inputs)