Raj’s announcement about his party’s plans to contest or otherwise the lok Sabha polls is crucial, as it comes in the backdrop of a meeting that senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari had with him on Monday last — in which the latter had requested him not put up MNS candidates against the BJP-led grand alliance nominees to avoid division of Opposition votes. There is considerable curiosity among the political parties as to how many candidates that the MNS — in the event of the party contesting the polls — will field in the lok polls.
