MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray , the elder son of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, on Monday said he will contest the October 21 Maharashtra assembly polls from Mumbai's Worli.

Aaditya will become the first member of the Thackeray clan ever to contest an election. Ever since the Shiv Sena was founded by late Bal Thackeray in 1966, no member of the family has contested any election or held any constitutional post.

The announcement comes amid obvious indications by the Shiv Sena that it is eyeing the top post in the state, with Uddhav recently saying that he made a promise to his late father Bal Thackeray to install a 'Shiv Sainik' (party worker) as the chief minister of Maharashtra.

Even today, senior party leader Sanjay Raut said that Sena will ensure that the young Thackeray reaches the 6th floor of the Mantralaya (Chief Minister's office) on October 21, just moments after Aaditya announced his decision to enter the poll fray.

"Due to some technical glitch, Chandrayaan 2 couldn't land on the moon (sic), but we will ensure that this sun (Aditya Thackeray) reaches the 6th floor of Mantralaya (Chief Minister's office) on 21st October," Raut was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The Shiv Sena has been projecting Aaditya as the chief ministerial face if it bags the highest number of seats in the next month's assembly polls. However, the BJP 's top brass has repeatedly stressed that incumbent chief minister Devendra Fadnavis would lead the state once again.

Meanwhile, the BJP and Shiv Sena have finalised the seat-sharing deal for the elections and are expected to announce the quantum of seat sharing through a joint statement soon.

In the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP and the Sena had contested separately over a dispute over sharing of seats.

The BJP won 122 out of 260 seats it had contested while the Sena bagged 63 out of 282 seats.

After the BJP formed the government in October 2014, the Sena joined it in December the same year.



In Video: Will ensure 6th floor office for Aaditya Thackeray in Mantralaya: Sanjay Raut