As the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) debate original Hindutva, some senior seers have brought Raj Thackeray, the new torch-bearer of the saffron agenda his cousin is accused of abandoning, to the fore, saying the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief will help the efforts of turning the country into a Hindu Rashtra.

Guru Maa Sadhvi Kanchangiri and Jagatguru Suryacharya, who are associated with an akhada in Ayodhya, visited Thackeray at his Dadar residence on Monday. They visited late Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shivaji Park memorial before sharing thoughts with Raj. Kanchangiri has been propagating the concept of Hindu Rashtra across the country with political and religious leaders and has visited the Indian diaspora in Europe and elsewhere.