Mumbai: Amid talks of an alliance between two estranged brothers, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday met with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief at Bandra’s Taj Lands End Hotel on Thursday morning.
According to sources familiar with the development, Raj Thackeray arrived at the hotel around 9.40am, with Fadnavis joining him approximately 40 minutes later. The closed-door discussion lasted about an hour and was absent from Fadnavis’s official schedule, triggering political murmurs about the intent behind the meeting.
Insiders suggest that the conversation likely centered on the possibility of bringing MNS into the BJP-led alliance, especially with the crucial BMC elections on the horizon. The potential Uddhav-Raj Thackeray reunion is being seen as a significant threat to the ruling alliance’s Marathi voter base in Mumbai. A factor that could have prompted Fadnavis’s outreach.
While neither Fadnavis nor Thackeray offered any public comment, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande distanced himself from the matter, stating he was unaware of the meeting’s agenda. On the other side, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar struck a conciliatory tone, saying that Raj Thackeray had expressed a willingness to unite for the good of Maharashtra and that Uddhav Thackeray responded positively. “A recent poll shows 86% of Marathi voters want the two cousins to work together. There is a sense of optimism between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS,” she said.
