Smita Thackeray, the 48-year old daughter-in-law of Shivsena Chief Balasaheb Thackeray has announced her decision to join the Congress party. ( Watch Video )
`I have become a big admirer of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and want to be part of the good work being done by them for the country,'' she said a leading tabloid on friday.
The reasons given by Smita for the sudden decision to join the enemy camp are two:
1. She feels the Shiv Sena is being unfair to Maharashtrians with its politics
2. She feels she was being systematically sidelined by powerful elements in the Thackeray family.
`I was promised a berth in the Rajya Sabha, but I was shocked when I learnt that my seat had been given to journalist Bharat Kumar Raut. In the assembly election too, I was promised a ticket, but it was denied to me for no apparent reason. One of my articles was published in the Sena mouthpiece, Saamna. But when I took the second article to Balasaheb, who is the editor, he refused to publish it. I got the message that I was not wanted any more, and tore up the article on the spot. It is painful to politically dissociate myself from the Sena, but I have no choice,'' she said.
``I cannot stand the suffocation any more and have decided to join the Congress, which has a national and global vision. I now feel most comfortable with the Congress ideology.'' praising the congress.
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