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I was not interested in politics, Jaidev Thackeray tells Bombay High Court

Jaidev Thackeray, estranged son of late Balasaheb Thackeray, on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that his father had expressed his view a couple of times that he should be his political heir, but he was not interested in politics.

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Jaidev Thackeray, estranged son of late Balasaheb Thackeray, on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that his father had expressed his view a couple of times that he should be his political heir, but he was not interested in politics.

Jaidev is being cross-examined by Rohit Kapadia, counsel of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in a suit filed by Jaidev challenging the will of Balasaheb. To a question on why he did not join politics, he replied saying, "I was moving with my grandfather till 1973 when he passed away. Thereafter, I started moving in the company of my father and attended meetings held by him. He always nursed a desire that I should be his political heir, but I did not cherish this and wanted to keep away from politics."

He added, "I was never interested to join politics because it is a different ball game altogether. In politics, one has to criticise friends and if necessary assail them. I do not approve of this... politics is not my cup of tea."

To another question, Jaidev replied, "My previous wife Smita had political ambitions. I tried to reason with her that we were comfortable in our way and that I had no interest in politics. However, her involvement continued to grow."

Jaidev further said that at the time when he had mooted the idea to shift to Kalina to his previous wife Smita Thackeray, along with his family, his father had undergone a bypass surgery. "The disagreements between me and Smita were becoming too much for him (Senior Thackeray) and it was he who had suggested that I should move to Kalina during the night."

To a question, Jaidev said he used to spend time with his father during the day at Matoshree, but went to Kalina flat during night. "It was my father who had suggested that I should stay temporarily in Kalina, so that there are no disputes. He also did not like Smita's involvement in politics," he said.

To another question, Jaidev said he had noticed that his name was removed from the ration card at the instance of his brother Uddhav, who is the current Sena Chief. "From 2003 onwards, Uddhav's influence over the family and household was increasing. In 2005, someone came to me with certain documents and asked me to sign. I noticed that my name was being removed, so I asked him who had sent the papers. He said "Saheb" has sent."

To a question, he said that he spoke to his father about his name being removed from the ration card and he assured to find out who was behind this. "I telephoned him again in the night on the same day and he told me that corrective steps would be taken and my name would be restored. But that never happened," Jaidev added.

The cross-examination would continue tomorrow.

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