Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray still shares a very strong bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, politics apart, a top Shiv Sena leader said today, weeks after a one-on-one interaction between the two leaders in Delhi.
Uddhav Thackeray met with PM Modi on June 8 over a range of issues linked to Maharashtra but it was their one-on-one meeting that drew maximum attention and raised speculation about a thaw between the former allies.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut downplayed the Modi-Thackeray chat.
"They spoke for about 40 minutes. This shouldn't lead to speculation that BJP will join hands with the Sena for a government. Our paths are different but we still have strong personal bonds - between the Thackeray family and Narendra Modi. Politics can be separate but personal ties are strong," Sanjay Raut said.
"Look at Sharad Pawar. This is Maharashtra's tradition - we are people who keep relationships intact," he added.
The personal meeting between Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena, and the prime minister had set political circles abuzz against the backdrop of the Sena severing ties with its oldest ally BJP after the Maharashtra Assembly elections in October 2019 and forming Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with the NCP and Congress.
After his one-on-one meeting with the prime minister, Thackeray had said there was nothing wrong in having such interaction, adding snarkily that he had not gone to meet Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif.
"The Chief Minister's Delhi visit was not for political reasons. Those who see politics in it.....let them be happy with their thinking. There will be a lot of speculations over this meeting. We only hope that Maharashtra's pending issues with the Centre get resolved soon," the Sena mouthpiece Saamana said in the editorial.
