Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray visited his cousin, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, at the latter’s ‘Shivtirth’ residence located at Dadar West, near Shivaji Park, on Wednesday, sparking off speculation about an alliance to fight the forthcoming local civic body elections to be held in Maharashtra.
Significantly, today’s meeting came exactly a day after a Congress party delegation comprising senior Maharashtra state Congress leaders like Balasaheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar, and Amit Patel met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday, where the possibility of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS being part of a Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition alliance to fight the forthcoming local civic body elections in Maharashtra was discussed.
Sources said that the most important part of Wednesday’s discussions at Raj Thackeray’s ‘Shivtirth’ residence was about whether the Raj Thackeray-led MNS will be a part of the Congress-led MVA opposition alliance during the forthcoming local civic body elections, besides the possibility of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray coming together in public again during a Dussehra gathering on October 2.
According to sources, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray reached Raj Thackeray’s ‘Shivtirth’ residence at around 11 am and held discussions for two and a half hours.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray was accompanied by former minister Anil Parab and Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP, as well as chief party spokesperson Sanjay Raut, while Raj Thackeray’s close MNS aides Bala Nandgaonkar and Sandeep Deshpande were at his residence.
A few days ago, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray visited Raj Thackeray’s ‘Shivtirth’ on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, and it was also the first time Uddhav ever visited Raj Thackeray’s home.
However, on Wednesday, Uddhav was also accompanied by his son Aditya Thackeray and wife Rashmi Thackeray as he visited ‘Shivtirth’. Today’s discussions took place after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray enjoyed a meal there.
Earlier, Raj Thackeray too had visited Uddhav’s ‘Matoshree’ residence in Bandra East, after many years, on the occasion of Uddhav Thackeray’s birthday.
On Tuesday, a Congress delegation met Uddhav Thackeray at his ‘Matoshree’ residence and held discussions about the possibility of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS joining the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi opposition alliance. Eventually, it was tentatively decided that the final decision about the Raj Thackeray-led MNS joining the MVA alliance would be left to senior leaders of the Congress high command as well as Sharad Pawar, along with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, sources said.
Sources said that working out the exact modalities of whether the Raj Thackeray-led MNS would be part of the MVA will be restricted only to a few key municipal corporations like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or if the alliance would be extended to local civic body elections all over Maharashtra.
On Tuesday, after meeting Uddhav Thackeray, senior Maharashtra state Congress leaders said, “We will consult with the Congress party high command in Delhi before taking a clear stand about the role of the MNS in the electoral strategy for Maharashtra”.
Senior Congress leader from Maharashtra, Balasaheb Thorat, also confirmed on Tuesday that during the meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, detailed discussions took place regarding the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and the possibility of an alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led MNS. “We have to discuss it with the party high command, and the final decision rests with them,” Thorat said.
Meanwhile, reacting to the Thackeray cousins’ meeting on Wednesday at Raj Thackeray’s ‘Shivtirth’ residence, BJP leader Amit Satam said, “Anybody can meet anybody else. Looking at it from the perspective of the forthcoming BMC elections, who met whom is of no importance. Who provided houses to the Marathi people in BDD Chawl, and who developed the metro trains?
“Everybody knows that the BJP did it. Due to the development efforts made by the Modi government and the Devendra Fadnavis government for 11 years, people in Mumbai are firmly behind the BJP-led Mahayuti. We saw it in the 2017 elections and the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections. You will see how Mahayuti gets support from the people during the forthcoming local civic body elections as well.”