Nagpur: Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Thursday stated that the party is willing to support Uddhav Thackeray in the upcoming Legislative Council elections, but expects a Rajya Sabha seat in return. Speaking with reporters in Nagpur, Wadettiwar was responding to a social media post by NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule, who suggested that Uddhav should contest the polls. With the Mahayuti alliance having enough numbers to send only one candidate to the council, Uddhav is viewed as a consensus candidate.
Congress Support Conditioned on Uddhav's Candidacy
"If Uddhav (Thackeray) is contesting, we will support him. And of course we expect that the Rajya Sabha consensus candidate must be from Congress," said Wadettiwar. However, he made it clear that Congress's support is specific to Uddhav, not his party. "If someone else wants to contest, then Mahayuti must discuss this," he added.
Criticism of BJP Over Women's Reservation Bill
Wadettiwar also addressed the BJP's nationwide campaign regarding the failed women's reservation bill. "BJP is trying to create a fake narrative that Congress is responsible for this, but the entire country knows the truth. In fact, we demand that the 33% reservation for women bill passed in 2023 be implemented immediately, else we will hit the streets," he said. He further claimed that "BJP leaders will never be able to fulfil their dream of Congress-mukt Bharat. They are scared of Congress, hence PM Narendra Modi himself mentioned our party's name 58 times in his address to the nation." Wadettiwar added that BJP was attempting to push a delimitation bill instead. "It is such a shame that BJP used our sisters as a decoy and attempted to attack democracy. But they have been exposed and are struggling to justify it to people," he remarked.
BJP's Maharashtra Leaders Under Central Diktat
Wadettiwar said BJP leaders in Maharashtra are left with no choice but to follow the Centre's diktat. "The leaders here know the reality, but once orders come from Delhi, everybody in Maharashtra BJP has to get to work," he said. He recalled that when the 33% reservation bill was passed a couple of years ago, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had given a "wonderful" speech praising it. "He (Fadnavis) forgot to thank Congress for supporting the bill back then, but that's fine. His speech was really good which proves that BJP accepted that the reservation bill had already passed as per their wish," said Wadettiwar.
