In a rare outing, three generations of the Thackeray family came out to vote on Tuesday. After having skipped the 2004 assembly elections and the Lok Sabha polls this April, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray appeared visibly upbeat and excited as he cast his vote along with son Uddhav and grandson Aditya. “Shivshahi will make a comeback,” he announced before taking a drive on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

Aditya told Newsline that the voting event was of extreme excitement for the family as well as him. “I had always accompanied my grandfather and dad for voting but this was the first time I was voting along with them.”

He said while the family comes out of their house ‘Matoshree’ usually around noon for voting, they came out early morning this time at the insistence of his grandfather. “He was in an upbeat mood and had got ready by 9 am. He told us ‘let’s go and vote’,” said Aditya, adding that Balasaheb couldn’t contain his excitement at home and kept reminding everyone to carry their voter ID cards. “He gave dad his blessings and told him that he will succeed.”

Prakash Bala Sawant of the Sena, JC Chandurkar of the Congress-NCP, Shilpa Sarpotdar of the MNS and Dr Jalinder Adsule of the Loksatta Party are contesting for the Bandra East constituency, where the Thackerays cast their vote. Aditya said the senior Thackeray did not advise him on voting “as he knew who I was voting for.”

The family, along with Uddhav’s wife Rashmi, cast their votes at a polling booth in Kherwardi around 10.30 am amidst cheers and hooting as a large number of crowd had gathered to take a look at the ailing patriarch of the Thackeray family. Showing his left forefinger, a smiling Thackeray told reporters “Shivsahi avtarnar (Shivshahi will make a comeback).”