Who scripted the reunion of Thackeray brothers?

Hindustan Times

5 days ago

As the Thackeray cousins reunited after two decades on Saturday, the question on everyone's mind was: Who mediated between them? And, was the script of the reunion written by someone? Who scripted the reunion of Thackeray brothers?
A popular conspiracy theory was that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had something to do with the reunion. Reason: It would cut deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde to size. Several leaders from the ruling Mahayuti as well as the opposition Congress-NCP(SP) have been pointing out that the whole thing started after Fadnavis had a closed-door meeting with Raj Thackeray on June 12. Five days later, the government issued a revised GR on Hindi as third language that restarted the agitation against the decision. Thereafter, the Thackeray cousins planned separate rallies. Then Raj called up Sanjay Raut for a joint rally and what happened after that is public knowledge.
The reunion will mean a division of traditional Shiv Sena votes in the local body polls and could be a setback to the Shinde-led Sena. The move could also split the MVA as Congress does not want an alliance with Raj. In a triangular contest in local body polls in the state, BJP will be the winner, they say.
Another theory is that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar advised the brothers to bury the hatchet pointing out that their outfits would become non-entities if Mahayuti wins big in the polls.
However, a couple of top leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT) camp as well as close aides of Raj Thackeray say the cousins communicated among themselves with the changes in circumstances and also due to pressure from their party cadre.
The actual process started after Raj's podcast in April in which he spoke about burying the hatchet with Uddhav.
While there are speculations on whether Raj really wants the alliance since he remained silent on the same, his aides say he would not have agreed to the reunion had he not been in favour of the alliance. 'His credibility is in question, he is seen as someone who can only split votes but can't win. He wants to put an end to this. And what better platform than a fight for Marathi?' they said.
*CM's podcast
A day after the Thackeray cousins' reunion in the name of Marathi asmita or Marathi identity, CM Fadnavis launched his podcast series, that too titled, 'Maharashtra Dharma'. In the 25-minute podcast, Fadnavis talks about Maharashtra's spiritual history and tradition of social reformers in conversation with Prof Sadanand More who comes from the family of Sant Tukaram. The timing of the podcast launch begs the question: was it meant to be released after the Thackeray brothers' show? CMO officials say the podcast was in the works and was meant to be released on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, when thousands of devotees reach Pandharpur's temple of Lord Vitthal. In his first term, Fadnavis had a televised programme, 'Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy' to connect with the people. In this term, he has opted for the flourishing podcast medium.
*Mungantiwar, the most vocal MLA
In the ongoing session of the state legislature, the legislator who is posing uncomfortable questions to the ruling parties is not someone from the opposition but one of their own. Senior BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar has been grilling ministers by raising issues that could be embarrassing for the government. From the missing ministers in the house to the dismal performance of the government over solar pump connections, Mungantiwar has been asking the tough questions. While his colleagues from the treasury benches are claiming that the senior legislator is bitter for not being inducted as a minister, Opposition legislators have been understandably encouraging him. Mungantiwar was a minister in the previous BJP-Sena government but did not find a ministerial berth in Fadnavis 2.0 government.
*Renaming plans dropped
The ruling BJP decided to quietly put to rest a demand made by its Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni to rename Pune railway station after Peshwa Bajirao. Last month, Kulkarni publicly demanded the renaming which led to several other sections putting forth other names--from social reformist Mahatma Jotiba Phule to Rajmata Jijabai, mother of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Maratha outfits like Sambhaji Brigade strongly objected to Bajirao's name. In an atmosphere where historical personalities are being divided on the basis of their castes, state BJP leaders were not keen on any new controversy over the renaming. Kulkarni was asked to keep quiet on the issue. As a statue of Peshwa Bajirao was unveiled by union home minister Amit Shah on Friday in Pune, there was no further noise over the renaming.