Seated in Matoshree, the sprawling Thackeray residence in Bandra (East), and juggling calls and meetings, Aaditya spoke to Hindustan Times on the impending elections, his party’s stand on crucial issues, and why he should not talk about becoming a chief minister. “Maharashtra will vote for change after the political turmoil, cultural decay and corruption of the last two years,” he said. If the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comes to power, it will launch a criminal investigation into decisions taken by the Shinde government in the last few days, and reexamine the Dharavi redevelopment deal, he said. He also made it clear that the Sena (UBT) has prioritised winning the election over insisting that his father, Uddhav Thackeray, be projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the coalition. Excerpts from an exclusive interview to Shailesh Gaikwad:

Elections will be held soon, but the mood in the MVA is very subdued, unlike during the Lok Sabha polls.

After the Lok Sabha polls, the people have decided to topple the unconstitutional regime in Maharashtra. Maharashtra’s politics are controlled by Delhi or from Gujarat, for the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and for (CM Eknath) Shinde. Whether in the area of employment, industry or anything else, Maharashtra is being held back. People are waiting to register their protest through the ballot.

Technically, constitutionally and legally, the 40 traitors who crossed over should have faced elections two years ago. The matter is sub-judice. The assembly elections have been called but we (Sena-UBT) have not got justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. The ballot will reveal what people think.

Still, it appears the ruling Mahayuti alliance has set the agenda with sops such as the Ladki Bahin Yojna, while the MVA campaign is very low-key.

Everyone knows why these schemes are launched just weeks before the elections, that too, after looting the people in the last two years. Also, what are these schemes? They are giving ₹1,500 to women although the BJP had earlier promised ₹15 lakh to everyone. They have waived the ₹45 toll at Mumbai’s entry points but have given a windfall of ₹50,000 crore to the Adani group. They are showering a small handout to lure voters but their real intent is to work for their real owner, who is Adani. Maharashtra has seen political turmoil, corruption and the lowest level of politics in the last two years. Now, Maharashtra will vote for change.

There are rumblings within the MVA over seat-sharing. Isn’t this a sign of a divided house?

These are constructive rumblings unlike the BJP and Shinde, who are fighting to take credit for a scheme launched two months ago or making allegations of corruption against each other, or over posts. The pushing and pulling over some seats in our coalition is because we are confident of winning and each of us wants to contribute.

How many seats does the Shiv Sena (UBT) want to contest?

We are approaching this very logically. For all of us, the more important task is to save Maharashtra from a corrupt regime.

Word is you want 100 seats but your ally, the Congress, is not inclined to agree. They are arguing that your strike rate was low in the Lok Sabha polls?

These are Chinese whispers. When we announce our seat-sharing, you will see the rationale behind it.

There are 75 seats in MMR and the Konkan. Your party did not do well in the Lok Sabha elections in this region, except in Mumbai, which was once a Shiv Sena stronghold. Can you win without scoring in this region?

In the Lok Sabha polls, we won nine seats and even the strongest party on the other side, the BJP, managed to win the same number of seats. In the Konkan, we lost seats narrowly. The picture will be better in the assembly election.

Your party wanted Uddhav Thackeray to be projected as the face of the MVA and the chief ministerial candidate but your allies were not keen on this. Are you still insisting on this?

What my party colleagues are saying (that Uddhav should be their CM candidate) resonates with public sentiment. Uddhav Thackeray was the top choice of the people in every survey. People saw how he handled the situation during Covid, how his government did well on various fronts. However, we are looking at forming the government first, rather than quarreling over who is the big brother and who should be CM. The priority is saving the state from the loot of the Shinde government.

You recently opposed the allotment of land for Dharavi redevelopment. The Mahayuti government claims your party is anti-development. What is your stand on this issue?

Those who are calling us anti-development have resorted to corruption in every infrastructure project that we launched. The kind of money being sucked out is shocking. About the Dharavi redevelopment project… are we against Mr Adani? No. Are we against him prospering? No. Are we against him taking any up projects in Maharashtra? No. We are opposing the blatant loot of Mumbai. Since Shinde and the BJP cannot win Mumbai, they are gifting it to Adani so that its political importance diminishes.

In the last few days, some NCP MLAs have returned to Sharad Pawar but your party has announced that you will not take back the rebel MLAs. Is this a politically wise decision?

There is a group (of MLAs in the Shinde-led Sena) that is keen to move out. They know what they did was wrong. It may make political sense to take some of them back but not moral sense. We think it is important to be morally correct in a state that has completely collapsed in terms of principles and culture under the BJP regime. Did you ever imagine Mumbai would see a lynching incident? For us, it is very important to look in the eyes of the people and say, ‘Look, we did the right thing.’

The ruling alliance has accused you of minority appeasement for votes.

Not just Muslims, everyone voted for us and the INDIA alliance, or else we would not have won 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra (in the Lok Sabha polls). The BJP’s last card is divisive politics. When they know they are losing an election the first thing they speak about is the Hindu-Muslim issue. Then they speak about castes. Or they pull out the India-Pak or India-Bangladesh card.

What is the Sena (UBT)’s stand on the Maratha quota issue? In fact, what is your stand on the clash between various castes?

In every state where the BJP has been ruling since 2014, social harmony has been destroyed by dissecting the people into different castes and religious groups. I think that those who deserve it should get quotas. However, the bigger issue is unemployment. When Air India announced 600 posts, 25,000 people turned up. For 17,000 police constable posts 17 lakh applied. Highly educated youth are applying for sweepers’ jobs.

The ruling parties are trying to corner you in Worli. Will you find it difficult to get reelected?

It doesn’t matter who contests opposite me. People in my constituency know my work. They will stand with me. I have support across the spectrum.

Would you like to be chief minister at some point?

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in Maharashtra’s politics it’s to never dream of posts and holding office. It’s best to just keep your head down and work for the people.