Mumbai: Just before the dust settled on the Maharashtra assembly trail, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, one of the men at the centre of this ‘make and break’ elections, made his final emotional appeal to the voters.

“I do not worry about my health; my concern is the health of Maharashtra. I will fight for you until my last breath,” he said while taking the stage against his doctor’s advice after angioplasty.

Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray's Appeal To Voters

Thackeray urged the voters to “choose the path of progress over darkness”. He appealed, “If you want to move towards a future of despair, vote for Mahayuti and MNS. If you want to progress and want a brighter future for Maharashtra, vote for MVA and the 'mashal'.

He also warned them not to split their ballots as they did in the Lok Sabha elections, cautioning that doing so could derail the state’s future. Following a series of critical statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a rally in BKC, Uddhav continued his tirade.

In Karjat to campaign for UBT candidate Nitin Savant and in Bandra West to support Varun Sardesai, he promised to complete the stalled redevelopment projects in Mumbai. Making it clear that the battle isn't just about Kalanagar or any single constituency but about Mumbai’s survival, he said that Mumbai is slowly being taken away from Maharashtra, with the BJP’s A, B, and C teams standing against UBT.

Shiv Sena-UBT Chief On MNS

Mocking MNS as ‘Gujarat Navnirman Sena’, he said that the party lacks direction. “Their leader’s (Raj Thackeray) speeches are disconnected from reality. I won't engage with him, but I promise to work for a better future for you,” Thackeray said, also terming Mahayuti as “Mahajhoothi Aghadi” owing to its “half-hearted promises, such as a 50% discount on bus fares for women”.

Lambasting “the current political climate”, Thackeray questioned BJP’s intention of deploying 90,000 poll observers from Gujarat and added that there were fewer people at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and Amit Shah’s rallies where empty chairs were seen.