On Thursday, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had a silent off-the-record meeting with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in a hotel in Mumbai, people close to the development told today. The meeting happened amidst the rising speculation over the possibility of reconciliation between Raj Thackeray and his cousin, and Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray.
Sources said that the meeting did not figure in the official itinerary of Fadnavis. Thackeray Raj arrived at the hotel at around 9.40 am, and Fadnavis arrived almost 40 minutes later. The meeting took about an hour, and political observers have suggested that the discussion could have been about averting a potential alliance between the Thackeray cousins- an alliance that is likely to garner the Marathi vote in a big way in the run-up to the key municipal elections in Mumbai.
It is indicated that Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray have discussed the possibility of MNS being a part of the ruling BJP-led alliance, and this may include a seat-sharing arrangement. Neither leader made any public remarks on the meeting.
MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande today said he was unaware of the intention and the subject of the discussion, whereas Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar said that Raj Thackeray had already expressed readiness to cooperate with Uddhav to develop Maharashtra, to which Uddhav had responded well. She followed up that the general opinion was also in favour of a reunion, with 86 percent of the Marathi voters being in favour of the action.
In the meantime, Sanjay Shirsat of the Eknath Shinde group of Shiv Sena cautioned against premature conclusions and stressed that his party as well kept open the option of an alliance with MNS.
On their part, both Raj and Uddhav have, in individual statements, said they were ready to bury the past differences in the larger interests of Maharashtra and the Marathi-speaking populace.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News