Mumbai: In the backdrop of the rancour between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, the thaw between the estranged cousins was heart warming. In a rare sight, which set tongues wagging, MNS leader Raj Thackeray shared the dais with Uddhav as the two cousins came together in public to remember the late Bal Thackeray on his second death anniversary here.
The body language was for all to see and the bonhomie was evident. A smiling Raj walked up to the dais and shook hands with Uddhav, his younger son Tejas, and Sena MP and spokesman Sanjay Raut. Nor did it all end after the pleasantries and the MNS leader was motioned by senior Sena leader Ramdas Kadam to a vacant chair, strategically placed between Uddhav and Raut, which he occupied.
The two leaders were seen chatting and laughing in public after a long time before Raj left the venue with other MNS leaders in tow. He was also seen chatting with several women Shiv Sena leaders, including city Mayor Snehal Ambekar.
Earlier, the two leaders had met in private when Uddhav visited his teenager niece, Urvashi, Raj’s daughter, who met with a road accident last fortnight. But this is their first public appearance together in the past two years.
Party workers of MNS and Shiv Sena are hopeful that both the leaders will come together and new political equations would emerge in Maharashtra. Even relatives said that they would like to see the cousins coming together.
“If they do so, Balasaheb’s vision will be fulfilled. They should have come together by now. But it is better late than never,” their maternal uncle Chandumama Vaidya said.
“I always go to their residence and tell them about their feelings for each other. Be it MNS workers or Sena, everyone wants them to come together,” he reiterated.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal — himself a former Shiv Sena leader — said his best wishes were always with the duo if they decide to reconcile their differences.
“People feel that they should come together. And their coming together isn’t impossible,” he said.
Raj Thackeray quit Shiv Sena in 2006 and formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. He and Uddhav are related from the maternal side, too, as their mothers were sisters.
Raj had publicly admitted he had sought an alliance with the Shiv Sena after its bitter split with the BJP “but there was no response from the other side”. His presence at Shivaji Park is seen as another attempt by him to warm up to the estranged cousin, whose party is now occupying the main opposition’s space.
Senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar, who accompanied Raj to the event, said that it was the wish of every Shiv Sainik and MNS worker that the two cousins reunite.
“This is a very sad day for us. It is difficult to cope with the absence of Balasaheb. But if the two decide to become one, it will be a memorable moment for all of us. It is the wish of not only every citizen of the state, but also of every Shiv Sainik and MNS worker. Both should join hands and fight for the welfare of the state as a single force,” Nandgaonkar told reporters.
