Election rally: ‘Rajnath who? I know Modi,’ says Raj Thackeray as BJP readies Plan B for Maharashtra polls

MUMBAI: Raj Thackeray's speech at a poll rally in Jogeshwari on Tuesday was a clear indication that BJP president Rajnath Singh's rebuff has in no way dampened the MNS's enthusiasm for Narendra Modi.

"My party is supporting Modi. I don't know Singh. I only know Modi and I only know that Modi should become the Prime Minister," he stated. "Modi-ji said in a recent interview that he can't say no to a party or a group supporting him," Raj added. Put simply, the MNS chief has asked Singh to take a walk.

Raj announced his party's support to senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde who is contesting from the Beed Lok Sabha constituency. "There were six phone calls from Munde today. So, I decided to support him too," he said and reminded the gathering that Munde, like Singh, had rebuked him (Raj) for extending unsolicited support to Modi.

Singh snubbed Raj last week for offering support to Modi without the BJP asking for it. Singh heaped some more ridicule on Raj and advised him to either join the NDA as ally or merge his party with the BJP.

Political observers say Raj's 'I-don't-know-who-is-Singh' remark can't be dismissed as mere poll rhetoric. In fact, the retort is, they point out, of a piece with the BJP-MNS' gameplan for the legislative assembly elections in Maharashtra in October this year.

Lok Sabha polls 2014: Get details of candidates & parties from your constituency

Whatever Singh may have said, a section in the state BJP wants the MNS as its poll ally in the state for the Assembly election. This section thinks that the Shiv Sena will never stop getting an upper hand in the saffron alliance because of the seat-sharing arithmetic.

While the Sena contests 171 of the 288 Assembly seats, the BJP' share is 117. According to the mutually agreed formula finalised in the 1990s by Bal Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan, the party which wins more seats will claim the CMship. "This means the Sena will always get the 'gaddi', while the BJP will always play a second fiddle to the Sena," said a senior BJP functionary on Tuesday.



Watch: 'Support for Modi, not Rajnath', says Raj Thackeray



Irrespective of the outcome of the LS poll, the Sena will insist on the 1990s seat-sharing formula for state polls. BJP strategists claim the formula needs to be reviewed and are clearing the decks for MNS to join the alliance as ally in place of Sena. "MNS wouldn't mind playing junior ally. Also, CMship will remain with the BJP," said the party functionary.