Fadnavis visits Raj Thackeray’s home amidst speculation over alliance for BMC poll
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at his residence at Dadar in Mumbai.
Mumbai: In a sudden move, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at his residence at Dadar in Mumbai. While Fadnavis said the meeting was not political, it sparked off fresh speculations of a possible alliance between the BJP and MNS for the upcoming all-important Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, came on the backdrop of strained relations between the two parties after Thackeray’s recent criticism of the BJP. It also marked Fadnavis’ first meeting with Thackeray since assuming CM’s office in December last year after the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls.
As the MNS sources claimed that it was a courtesy meeting, Fadnavis too said that the meeting was not political. “After I took oath as the chief minister, Thackeray called me to congratulate me. At that time I had told him that I would come to see him at his residence. And today I met him. It was a personal meeting. No political discussions took place during this meeting,” Fadnavis said.
While details of the meeting are not known, the talks between Fadnavis and Thackeray has sparked off speculations of a possible alliance between the BJP and MNS for the upcoming local body polls, particularly the all-important Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
The BJP has been trying hard to grab power in the BMC, which is the richest municipal corporation in the country. The MNS has sizable votes in some pockets of Mumbai, which will help the saffron party in its quest to dethrone the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena from the BMC.
Thackeray, who had extended support to the BJP during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, had recently criticized the saffron party alleging that while the party had once vowed to imprison leaders involved in multi-crore scams, but later inducted them into the state cabinet. He also questioned the legitimacy of the 2023 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha election results, prompting sharp reaction from the BJP.
The saffron party dismissed Thackeray’s allegations, accusing him of spreading misinformation about the party. BJP leaders asserted that their party has never engaged in the politics of negotiation or compromise.
Despite supporting the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, Thackeray’s MNS chose to contest the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections independently but failed to secure a single seat.
