As Uddhav Thackeray stares at yet another split in his faction of Shiv Sena (UBT), his trip to Nagpur has triggered a new political buzz after he shared a flight with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Thackeray, his son Aditya and key aide Sanjay Raut travelled to Nagpur for a party rally. The three leaders took a commercial flight from Mumbai.
Maharashtra CM Fadnavis, who was also headed to his hometown Nagpur, was on the same flight.
They reportedly exchanged formal greetings but their travelling on the same flight led to speculation amid the ongoing political developments in the state.
The development comes days after six of the Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
‘Biggest news’ of the day, says Fadnavis
Reacting to the speculation, CM Fadnavis said that his travel with Uddhav Thackeray is the biggest news.
“The three of us, Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut and I were together on the flight — that is the biggest news,” the Maharashtra CM told a local TV channel.
However, BJP leader Ram Kadam sought to downplay the meeting between Uddhav and Fadnavis as “just a coincidence”.
“If Uddhav Thackeray goes among the people after everything has been lost, it is nothing but a gimmick. Has he ever travelled on an IndiGo flight like this in his life, leaving aside chartered planes? This is merely a stunt. As for his meeting with the Chief Minister on the flight, it was just a coincidence,” BJP leader Ram Kadam told ANI.
Congress, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with UBT Sena, also said that the meeting was no big deal.
“If they were on the same flight, won’t they speak with each other? Politics doesn’t mean enmity. Politics is about taking forward respective ideologies… Was it a government aircraft? This was a commercial flight. If they are on the same flight, what is the big deal?” Congress leader Husain Dalwai said.