MNS out of Lok Sabha poll fray in Maha
Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which is struggling to stay relevant in the state politics, would not contest next month's Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
An MNS leader said party president Raj Thackeray would make his political position clear on March 19 in a public meeting, and guide the party cadres.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), founded in 2006 by Raj Thackeray after he fell out with Shiv Sena patriarch and his uncle Bal Thackeray, reached its zenith in 2009 assembly elections when it won 13 out of total 288 seats.
The party was also said to be responsible for defeat of Shiv Sena candidates in Mumbai and its metropolitan region, apparently due to division of Marathi votes.
However, the party lost the momentum gradually. Though it never won a Lok Sabha seat, in 2014 elections it was blown away during the Narendra Modi wave.
In the assembly elections held that year, the MNS won only one seat in Maharashtra. Recently, that lone MLA from Junnar in Pune district has ...