Mumbai: In a major step towards forming an alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray visited his cousin Raj’s home in Dadar on Wednesday. The cousins reportedly held talks on the Sena (UBT)- MNS alliance and seat sharing for the BMC polls.
There is a buzz in political circles that Uddhav may invite Raj for the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s annual Dussehra rally at the historic Shivaji Park, where a formal announcement about the alliance might be made.
In an unplanned visit, Uddhav reached Raj’s residence, Shivtirth, in the morning to meet him. While the former was accompanied by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and MLC Anil Parab, the MNS chief was with senior party leaders Bala Nandgaonkar and Sandeep Deshpande. The closed-door discussion lasted nearly two and a half hours.
This was the second public interaction between the two once-estranged cousins in the past two weeks. Uddhav had visited Shivtirth last month on the occasion of the Ganeshotsav.
Officials from both parties said there were talks on the Sena (UBT)- MNS alliance and seat sharing for the BMC polls were discussed and more rounds of meetings are expected.
Sources said that the MNS, during the meeting, is learnt to have sought around 90 to 95 seats in Mumbai, though Sena (UBT) functionaries said the figure would be ‘rationalised’ through constituency-level negotiations.
However, Raut denied any political discussions and called it a ‘courtesy call-up.’ “The truth is that Kunda massi, mother of Raj Thackeray, had asked Uddhav to visit. She had said during our Ganpati visit that we were not able to speak at length. So, let’s sit and speak some other time. Hence, we (Uddhav and Raut) went to Raj Thackeray’s house,” he said.
The meeting marks the fourth interaction between the cousins in recent months, fuelling talk of a possible political understanding. Earlier, Uddhav had visited Raj’s residence during the Ganesh festival, while Raj called on Uddhav at Matoshree on July 27 to wish him on his birthday. On July 5, the cousins shared a political stage for the first time in two decades, addressing a joint rally in Worli to celebrate their ‘victory’ after the Maharashtra government rolled back its contentious orders on three-language formula for students of Classes 1 to 5 amid charges of imposition of Hindi in the state.
