After CM Devendra Fadnavis meets Raj Thackeray, Sanjay Raut says Maharashtra politics is now ‘madari ka khel'

Indian Express

8 hours ago

Days after a surprise meeting between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and MNS chief Raj Thackeray triggered speculations about the possibility of a BJP-MNS alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday described the current political atmosphere in Maharashtra as a 'madari ka khel' (puppet show), alleging that the CM was attempting to manipulate all parties to suit the BJP's interests.
'Fadnavis tries to play with everyone at the same time. He thinks every party in Maharashtra dances to his tune. What is happening in the state is not politics—this is a circus,' Raut wrote in his weekly column Rokhthok published in Saamana, the Sena UBT's mouthpiece.
Accusing Fadnavis of ignoring the concerns of Mumbai's Marathi population, Raut alleged that Fadnavis was working in favour of corporate interests—particularly those of industrialist Gautam Adani.
'Fadnavis is openly supporting those who want to push the Marathi population out of Mumbai. Under his tenure, prime land parcels in the city are being handed over to Adani. Is this an attempt to drain Mumbai and send everything to Gujarat?' Raut wrote. 'One hopes Raj Thackeray asked him these questions during their meeting.'
Raut further alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi treated Mumbai as a commercial hub, not a city rooted in Marathi identity. 'Fadnavis does whatever Delhi tells him to. And in their eyes, Mumbai is a trading post—not a cultural capital,' he wrote.
The meeting between Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray, which took place at the Taj Lands End Hotel in Bandra on Thursday morning, led to heightened speculation in political circles about a potential BJP-MNS understanding, instead of a MNS-Sena (UBT) alliance.
Although both the BJP and the MNS have remained tight-lipped, sources suggest the discussion may have focused on issues concerning Marathi voters and possible cooperation in the civic polls.
A BJP-MNS alliance could split the traditional Marathi vote bank that has historically supported the Shiv Sena in Mumbai, potentially weakening the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction ahead of the civic polls. The BMC, India's richest civic body, has been under the Uddhav-led Sena's control for over two decades.
Meanwhile, MNS leader Avinash Jadhav said the details of the Fadnavis-Raj meeting would come out soon.
Expressing frustration over the state of public discourse, Raut said that real issues such as inflation, joblessness, and the marginalisation of Marathi speakers were being ignored.
'People in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and across India are dying like insects, but politicians continue with their political drama. No one is talking about how the Marathi person is disappearing from Mumbai,' he wrote. 'The real discussion should be about that, not about hotel meetings and alliances.'
With municipal elections due in Mumbai and other civic bodies across the state, political posturing has intensified with the BJP expected to aggressively contest the BMC polls. Fadnavis's meeting with Raj seems to be part of such efforts aimed at stopping the Sena (UBT) from consolidating the Marathi votes.