Raj Thackeray and CM Fadnavis hold meeting in Mumbai; agenda unclear

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai on Monday While the details of their discussion remain undisclosed the meeting has sparked political speculationAccording to PTI BJP MLC Prasad Lad confirmed that Thackeray had invited Fadnavis to his residence located near Shivaji Park in Mumbairsquos Dadar area However he refrained from revealing any further details about the meetingThe interaction comes against the backdrop of Thackerayrsquos recent criticism of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party BJP Last month the MNS leader launched an attack on the BJP accusing the party of going back on its previous stance regarding leaders allegedly involved in a multicrore scam Thackeray claimed that while the BJP had once vowed to put such leaders behind bars it instead inducted them into the state cabinet raising questions about the partyrsquos credibilityAdditionally Thackeray had expressed doubts over the outcome of last yearrsquos Maharashtra Assembly elections hinting at possible irregularities However the BJP dismissed these allegations stating that the MNS chief was presenting misleading information The party also asserted that it had never engaged in the politics of negotiation or compromise as claimed by ThackerayDespite his criticisms Thackeray had extended support to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections aligning with the party at the national level However his party chose to contest the Maharashtra Assembly elections in November 2024 independently The decision did not yield favourable results for the MNS as it failed to secure a single seat in the state assemblyMaharashtra polls BJP firm on backing Raj Thackerays son in Mahim seat says Devendra FadnavisMaharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavison Wednesday said that the BJP is firm on backing MNS chief Raj Thackerays son Amit Thackeray in Maharashtra Assembly election 2024 which the ruling Shiv Sena is also contesting reported the PTIThe CM Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena has fielded sitting MLA Sada Sarvankar from Mahim while Mahesh Sawant is the candidate of the Shiv Sena UBT headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray from the seatEfforts will be made to find a solution to this Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in MumbaiThe BJP leader also said his party would try to convince most of its rebels to withdraw their nominations but added that there will be friendly fights in some seats in the November 20 state pollsThe Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS of Raj Thackeray is not a part of the MahayutiThe Mahayuti comprises of the BJP Shiv Sena andDeputy CM Ajit Pawars NCP but supported the ruling alliance in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this yearDevendra Fadnavis said that the BJP and CM Shinde had a consensus on supporting MNS candidate Amit Thackeray who is making his electoral debut in the Mahim assembly constituencyHowever leaders from the Shindeled Shiv Sena argued that if the party does not contest the election its dedicated voters would shift to the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT The BJP was ready to support Amit and is still firm on its stand he said according to the PTIAsked about the solution to this conundrum Devendra Fadnavis said When we leaders of Mahayuti meet we will discuss and try to find a solutionMahim has witnessed the birth of the undivided Shiv Sena 1966 and then the MNS which came into existence in 2006 when Raj Thackeray charted his own independent political courseDevendra Fadnavis also maintained that every major political party in the state has been facing the challenge of rebels in theMaharashtra Assembly election 2024The BJP would try to convince most of its rebels to withdraw their nominations Fadnavis saidThere will be friendly fights in some seats he addedNotably Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday alleged he was backstabbed by his close colleague and then home minister R R Patil who ordered an open inquiry against him in the alleged multicrore irrigation scamShaad Pawar also claimed a file mentioning Patils remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to him by Fadnavis after he became chief minister in 2014Asked about the NCP leaders comments Devendra Fadnavis said It is true that the investigation against Ajit Pawar commenced when the Congress and then undivided Nationalist Congress Party were in power However I would not say anything on R R Patils decision as he has passed away it would be inappropriate the news agency reportedwith PTI inputs