Uddhav and Raj Thackeray spark reunion buzz with fourth meeting ahead of local body polls
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday visited MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s residence and met him. This is the fourth meeting between the two Thackeray cousins ahead of the local body elections.
After the Maharashtra government decided to impose Hindi as the third language from the primary school level in the state, both Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray upped the ante, forcing it to rescind the decision. Since then, the bonhomie between the two cousins has increased. If they do come together politically, the local body elections will be the first litmus test for their reunion.
Speaking to the media, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, while it's true that meetings between the two Thackerays have increased, this one was not a political meeting. He said that during the last visit of Uddhav Thackeray to Raj Thackeray during the Ganesh festival, Raj’s mother and Uddhav’s aunt had asked him to come again at a peaceful time as they could not speak at length then due to the crowd.
“Therefore, after the Ganesh festival, at the request of Raj Thackeray’s mother, this visit was planned. This is a fact, and no political discussion took place this time, but I am confident that both will surely come together politically to give a befitting reply to the BJP and DCM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as well,” Raut said.
Earlier, both the Thackerays met on July 5 on the occasion of a victory rally after forcing the state government to rescind its decision to impose Hindi in primary schools. Then on July 27, Raj Thackeray went to Matoshree on the occasion of Uddhav Thackeray’s birthday. At the third meeting on August 27, on the occasion of the Ganesh festival, Uddhav Thackeray went to Raj Thackeray’s residence at Dadar.
Sources said that both the Thackerays wanted to discuss the future strategy in detail to gauge if they are ready to join hands. “Unless and until an open discussion takes place between Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, things will not move politically in the right direction. The regular meetings will give a positive message to cadres of both parties and galvanise them for the elections. So, each meeting is bringing them closer politically, but unless it is officially announced, we should not say it's official," said a political observer.