Ashish Shelar meets MNS chief Raj Thackeray, sparks talk of tie-up

MNS President Raj Thackeray and Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP chief

Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray at the latter's residence on Monday, highlighting the importance of the Thackeray brand in Maharashtra. It is believed that Shelar and Thackeray discussed forging a potential alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha election as well as polls in the state. According to political sources, Shelar, who also represents the Vandre West constituency in the Legislative Assembly, met Thackeray at the behest of the party high command in New Delhi. It is said that in the meeting that took place for over an hour.

Later, Shelar tweeted, "In politics, political meetings and political discussions happen. Raj Thackeray is a friend and so meetings happen between us. We will reveal details about the same at the right time." In the past few years, Thackeray has been vocal about his ideas of Hindutva. His party enjoys decent support in urban areas of Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Pune.

In 2009, the MNS contested 11 seats during the general election and its vote share was 4.7 per cent. During the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, it contested 10 seats but its vote share was 1.5 per cent. Following the vertical split in the Shiv Sena after the rebellion led by Eknath Shinde, one of the hot topics being debated in political circles is whether the Thackeray brand still holds relevance in Maharashtra politics.