Uddhav claims INDIA bloc has several PM candidates, BJP has only one

Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), claimed on Wednesday that unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition INDIA alliance has numerous candidates it can present as its prime ministerial candidate.

He was speaking during the news conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which is the venue of the two-day INDIA meeting that will start on Thursday.

"The question about choice for the prime minister's post should be asked to the BJP, which has only one choice that we have seen for the last nine years. The INDIA alliance has several choices for the PM post. What choices does the BJP have?" Thackeray said in response to a question.

He also took a swipe at the Centre over its decision to slash by Rs 200 the LPG prices per cylinder as a "Raksha Bandhan" gift. The government announced the cut in domestic cooking gas prices on Tuesday. "Was there no Raksha Bandhan in the last nine years? As INDIA (alliance) progresses, the LPG cylinders will be given for free. No matter what they do, people are smart and understand everything," Thackeray said. Replying to a question on the Niti Aayog's master plan for the economic transformation of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Thackeray said his party would oppose any such a move of the central government's intervention.

On whether a convenor would be appointed for the INDIA alliance, the former Maharashtra chief minister said, "Let's wait for the meeting and deliberations to take place." In a swipe at the ruling alliance led by the BJP, he asked, "Does anyone know who the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convenor is.

With PTI inputs