The election campaign for the municipal corporations in the state has gained momentum, with leaders from all parties busy campaigning tirelessly. Against this backdrop, a joint campaign meeting was organized today in Nashik by the Shiv Sena Thackeray faction and MNS. In this meeting, MNS President Raj Thackeray strongly criticized Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and attacked on several issues. His speech has heated up the political atmosphere in Nashik.
Raj Thackeray first criticized the incoming members in the BJP. “There is a strong influx into the BJP during the local self-government elections in the state. However, the people coming in are not coming happily. Money is delivered at night,” he made a serious allegation. “It is unfortunate that the party, born in 1952 as Jan Sangh, has to rent children in 2026. Your people were standing, so why the need to carry others on your shoulders and dance?” he also questioned.
After this, Raj Thackeray took a strong jab at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by referring to his old statement 'I adopt Nashik'. “In 2017, Fadnavis came to Nashik and said I adopt Nashik. The people of Nashik were deceived by those words. The work we had done earlier was forgotten. But after saying he would adopt, the father never returned,” he attacked, accusing Fadnavis of not fulfilling the promises made. Raj Thackeray also criticized the BJP on issues of environment and development work. “There is talk of trimming trees in Tapovan. Workers from their own party are being trimmed and trees are being brought from outside and planted in the party,” he sarcastically targeted the government.
In the latter part of the speech, Raj Thackeray reviewed the development works during the MNS's tenure. “During our rule, the Kumbh Mela was successfully conducted, not a single tree was cut. We brought Ratan Tata to Nashik. In the first five years, we solved Nashik's water problem permanently by bringing a pipeline from the dam. We undertook many projects like GPS-enabled garbage trucks, solid waste projects, beautification of traffic islands, and a botanical garden,” he said, also alleging that these projects have deteriorated in the last five years. Due to Raj Thackeray's aggressive speech, the campaign for the municipal elections in Nashik has become more exciting, and political accusations and counter-accusations are likely to intensify in the coming period.