Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray Thursday said the NDA will come to power in the 2014 elections and the country's next prime minister will be from its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)."This is the last time that a Congress prime minister will speak from the Red Fort on Republic Day," Thackeray said, making a factual error since the prime minister addresses the nation on Independence Day, and not Republic Day.Thackeray pledged to the gathering that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will "grab power" in both the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections.Alleging that Manmohan Singh "is the weakest prime minister ever", Thackeray urged Shiv Sainiks "to throw out the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party" alliance from power in Maharashtra.
Thursday was also the 88th birth anniversary of late Shiv Sena founder-patriarch Bal Thackeray, which was celebrated as "Pledge Day" by the party.
Thackeray announced the day will be celebrated in future too.A party helpline for the public, a woman's safety mobile application, a Marathi mobile dictionary, an application of famous speeches by Bal Thackeray, a women's self-help group and the Shriman Balasaheb Thackeray IAS Academy were also launched on the occasion.The Shiv Sena rally was held exactly a month after its ally BJP's rally Dec 22. Since the Shiv Sena was not invited for the Dec 22 rally, the party also kept its ally from from its show Thursday.