Uddhav Sena renews pitch for reunion with Raj Thackeray as Shinde Sena steps up MNS outreach
Amid fresh buzz of a rapprochement between Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Maharashtra minister Uday Samant, who is from the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, met Raj at his residence in Mumbai Tuesday.
This was the fourth meeting between Samant and Raj in the wake of the state Assembly polls held in November last year.
Last month, Shinde had met Raj at his residence, which heightened the possibility of an alliance between the Shiv Sena and the MNS for the upcoming election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies in the state, which are slated to take place later this year.
Raj had also met Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadanvis at his official residence 'Varsha' last week.
These meetings between the ruling Mahayuti's key leaders and the MNS chief have raised a question mark over the prospects of a patch-up between the estranged Thackeray cousins.
After meeting Raj Tuesday, Samant said it was a 'courtesy call', claiming that there was no political discussion during his visit. 'I had come to the Dadar area for some work and I only called up Saheb (Raj ). So I came and we discussed some developments. There was no political discussion, which is being speculated. If there was any discussion regarding the BMC polls, then we would have held a press conference to announce it,' he said.
Reacting to the meeting between Samant and Raj, Sena (UBT) MP and spokesman Sanjay Raut said his party had responded 'positively' to Raj's overtures and that the ball was now in the latter's court.
'Raj Thackeray had started this (reconciliation bid) and we responded positively. We are responding positively today as well. Now it is up to him to respond and we are waiting for the response. We consider Raj Thackeray in high regards, we respect him,' Raut said.
On April 19, both Raj and Uddhav had sent out signals for a possible reunion, saying they were ready to keep aside their 'disputes' for the larger interest of the people of Maharashtra.
While speaking at a podcast with filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, Raj had then set the conciliatory tone and expressed willingness to move beyond 'minor disputes' with Uddhav while stressing that the interest of Maharashtra was bigger than personal disagreements.
Responding to it on the same day at a Sena (UBT) trade union event, Uddhav acknowledged the possibility of their reconciliation, saying that he was willing to set aside their differences in the interest of the Marathi people and language.
However, Uddhav had also added a caveat that Raj must not associate with forces like the BJP and the Shinde Sena, which are the adversaries of the Sena (UBT).
Subsequently, both Uddhav and Raj went abroad following which their patch-up exercise appeared to have been put on the backburner.
On April 26, the Sena UBT's official X handle posted a message in Marathi, 'Vel Aaliye Ekatra Yenyachi', indicating that it was time for the Thackeray cousins to come together.
A few days later, Raut also called for their reconciliation, stating that Uddhav has signalled his willingness in this regard and that it was up to Raj to take his call.
Raj had floated the MNS in March 2006 after quitting the then Bal Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena following differences with Uddhav. Like the Sena, the MNS also centered its politics on the Marathi Manoos issue.
The MNS has however been in political wilderness in the state for several years. In the November 2024 Assembly polls, it drew a blank with 1.55% vote share despite contesting 135 seats out of 288. In 2019, the party could win just one seat with 2.5% vote share.
In the BMC polls, which have traditionally been dominated by the Sena, the MNS had won seven seats out of 227 in 2017, with the Uddhav-led Sena, which was then in alliance with the BJP, emerging as the single largest party with 84 seats.
Uddhav and Raj have had a tumultuous relationship. There have been several instances over the years when even a public meeting between them has set off talks of an alliance and the cousins coming together.
Uddhav has, however, remained wary of Raj's stance on the BJP, which has fluctuated – from warming up to it at times to occasionally criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Warehouse planned on Wadala salt pan land to stock EVMs
MUMBAI: The state government is planning to construct a warehouse on a plot, classified as salt pan land a few decades ago but has since been lying vacant, in Wadala, to stock electronic voting machines (EVMs) issued to Mumbai city collectorate. The machines are traditionally stored in select sections of offices of the Mumbai Port Authority, Railways, and schools, among other places. The state chief electoral officer (CEO) S Chockalingam said, 'While earlier, EVMs were even stored in godowns stocking food grains, now we have decided to construct special places to store them. We have constructed similar godowns in 21 districts.' The Mumbai city district, stretching from Colaba to Mahim, has 2537 polling stations, with 6869 ballot units, 4798 control units and 4982 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, said Mumbai city deputy district election officer Shyam Surwase. The warehouse in Wadala will house the machines put to use in this stretch of south Mumbai. Surwase told HT, the size of the godown and cost to construct it are yet to be determined. The city faced a severe dearth of space to store the machines earlier, leading to election officials often complaining about the EVMs' poor performance when they get wrecked from dampness. That's the reason why it was deemed fit to allocate the land in Wadala, people in the know told HT. According to the city's development plan (DP-2034) which was inked in 2018, the proposed land parcel was reserved for rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected people, or a depot for BEST or to be left as a natural area. In 2021, the then collector of Mumbai city district and the chief electoral officer wrote to the Urban Development Department (UDD) to renegotiate the reservation of the natural area for a 3846 sq-metre plot, and facilitate it for the warehouse to store EVM and VVPAT machines. The original salt pan plot was de-reserved last week. Throwing light on the use of the warehouse, an official from the Election Commission said, 'Political parties have made it fashionable to blame EVMs at times of defeat. Earlier, Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the machines, and now Opposition parties have taken the plunge. Many leaders also file election petitions. During the last assembly elections, in Mumbai, we had to hold back EVMs of Mumbai North West Parliamentary constituency as Amol Kirtikar of Shiv Sena (UBT) lost narrowly and filed election petition. Huge space is required to stock the machines. Once each district has its own godown and proper security is put in place, the allegations of tampering will go away completely.' Plans are also afoot to replicate the process in the Mumbai suburban district (Bandra-Dahisar and Sion-Mulund). The EVMs here are stacked in a godown of Food Corporation of India, in Borivili, and the Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation, in Goregaon. A senior official in the know of things, from the suburban collectorate, said: 'We have asked for a plot next to the Mumbai city collectorate's godown at Wadala or a plot next to the veterinary college in Goregaon, owned by state animal husbandry department. The Mumbai suburban district needs a plot of at least four acres for a godown, which would cost at least ₹60 crore to build. As the budget is huge, the plan is on hold.' Thane collector Ashok Shingare said, a similar godown has been planned in Kalwa. 'We have 18 assembly segments and a large number of EVMs. We had a meeting with CEO Chokalingham recently and have asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to draw a plan,' said Shingare.
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Marathi Manoos to be centre-stage once more in Sena (UBT) BMC poll campaign
MUMBAI: The Marathi manoos and the attempts to reduce his importance in Mumbai is likely to be the central idea of the Shiv Sena (UBT) campaign strategy for the crucial BMC polls which are expected to be held after the monsoon. Given the recent Marathi-versus-Gujarati controversy stemming from the statements of RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi and the government's attempt to make Hindi a compulsory third language in school curricula, the Shiv Sena (UBT) party has planned to focus on its old Sons of the Soil issue and the first right of the Marathi manoos over Mumbai in its poll campaign. Titled 'Ladha Aaplya Mumbai saathi' (Battle for our Mumbai), the campaign, according to party insiders, will be led by the party's youth wing chief Aaditya Thackeray. The Shiv Sena was founded by the late Bal Thackeray on the Sons of the Soil issue in the 1960s. After the split in the party and losing power to the Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance, Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has been accusing the BJP and particularly prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah of reducing the importance of Mumbai by shifting establishments out of the metropolis. Thackeray has also opposed the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) and alleged that Modi-Shah want to gift land across the city to the Adani group in the name of rehabilitation of Dharavi residents. This strategy gave good results to the party, as it won three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai. Although it lost the assembly elections badly and could win only 20 seats, half of those were from Mumbai, which means the party is still a force in the city. The Thackeray father-son duo is now banking on goodwill from Marathi loyalists of the undivided Shiv Sena and Thackeray's new party to win the BMC polls. The party has decided to hold gatherings of its workers and various organisations to kickstart the campaign with a focus on issues such as the DRP and land acquisition for it at various locations. As Mulund residents were the first to protest against the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents outside Dharavi on June 9, the party will hold a gathering at Mulund to be addressed by Aaditya Thackeray. On Wednesday, Aaditya also met people from Dharavi and assured them of support in their fight for proper rehabilitation. A Shiv Sena leader said that Uddhav Thackeray had directed partymen on May 9 to raise their voice on local issues in the respective municipal corporations prior to the local body polls. 'Accordingly, a campaign centred around the battle for Mumbai has been planned for the BMC elections,' he said. 'The DRP and land for rehabilitation granted to it across Mumbai will be centre-stage, as there is a growing sentiment that Mumbai land is being gifted to Adani. Besides this, the corruption in the cement roads project, the poor condition of roads across the city, poor execution of drain cleaning, water logging in Mumbai and property tax will be key issues.' Anil Parab, who has played a key role in the Sena (UBT)'s election management and several BMC election campaigns, indicated that Uddhav Thackeray would sound the bugle for the BMC polls on June 19. 'Party workers have started raising their voice over local issues like water supply and property tax,' he said. 'The party leadership has consistently raised its voice on the DRP and related issues. June 19 is Party Foundation Day, and on that day, Uddhav Thackeray will present the political programme.'
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
BJP eyes maximum seats in BMC polls, could clash with ally Sena
MUMBAI: The BJP, which is aiming to win over 680 urban and rural local bodies in the forthcoming polls, is hellbent on conquering the BMC, the largest and richest civic body in the country. Based on its internal surveys, the party is likely to contest 150 of the 227 seats in Mumbai to ensure that it wins more than half the seats on its own. This is, however, expected to lead to a tussle with its ruling ally, the Shiv Sena, which aims to contest over 100 seats. Against the backdrop of talks between the estranged Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, and their likelihood of allying in the local body polls, the BJP checked out their potential in the BMC elections. The internal survey conducted by the party reportedly showed that the Thackeray cousins' reconciliation would cost the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena dear without hampering the BJP much. This has elated the BJP and spurred it to go aggressive on its partners in the seat-sharing arrangement according to the party's senior leaders. 'Although it is a far-fetched possibility, if the Thackeray cousins come together, it will not harm our prospects,' said a Mumbai-based BJP leader. 'Our North Indian and Gujarati-Marwari voters will remain intact. In fact, the Sena (UBT) could lose North Indian votes by joining hands with Raj because of the latter's anti-North Indian image. Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, however, could be dented in the Marathi-dominated areas of South and South-Central Mumbai. In such a scenario, we have room to ask for more seats while negotiating with the Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.' The leader suggested that as a compromise formula, the BJP could sacrifice some of its seats in Thane, Mira-Bhayander and Kalyan-Dombivali. 'We won a whopping 82 seats in the 2017 BMC elections and were in a position to elect a BJP mayor, but gave up the claim for our ruling ally, the Shiv Sena, then headed by Uddhav Thackeray,' he said. 'This time, however, we have a clear edge and could win the BMC on our own. It could happen if we contest maximum seats. Though it is premature, our aim is to contest 150 seats.' Another party leader said that the Mahayuti would contest most of the municipal corporations as an alliance. 'However, we could go for a friendly fight in some corporations like Navi Mumbai, where the BJP and Shiv Sena have equal strength and both would benefit by occupying space in the opposition,' he said. 'In Pune, we will have an understanding with the NCP and may agree to give more seats to it.' The BJP has decided to sound the poll bugle, and has convened a party meeting at Dadar on Monday. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to address party office-bearers from Mumbai. 'It will be the first party meeting for local body poll preparations after the Supreme Court directed the State Election Commission to hold the elections,' the leader said. The local body polls are expected to be held in October or November.
