Uddhav meets Raj Thackeray amid alliance buzz between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS

Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday visited his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS president Raj Thackeray here amid the buzz of an alliance between the two parties reported news agency PTIA meeting between the two party chiefs and their leaders was held at Shivtirth the residence of Raj Thackeray located in the citys Dadar area reported PTIThis was the second public interaction between the two onceestranged cousins in the past two weeks Uddhav had visited Shivtirth last month on the occasion of the Ganesh festivalThe two had shared a stage on July 5 in Mumbai to celebrate their victory after the Maharashtra government rolled back its contentious orders on threelanguage formula for students of Classes 1 to 5 amid charges of imposition of Hindi in the state dominated by Marathi speakersIn Julyend Raj visited Matoshree the residence of Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra to wish the latter on his birthdayAlthough Raj quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005 blaming Uddhav for his exit the drubbing of their parties in the 2024 assembly polls appears to have pushed the rivals to improve tiesBoth parties have dropped enough hints of forging an alliance for the upcoming local body polls including elections to the cashrich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC but have not yet announced a formal tieup If it happens the BJP will be its main adversaryAsked about the latest meeting between the Sena UBT chief and MNS president BJPs Mumbai unit chief and MLA Ameet Satam on Wednesday said citizens are more concerned about development than family meetings between political leadersIt is not about who is meeting whom and their familyrelated bonding but it is more about who constructed Atal Setu the Coastal Road the redevelopment of BDD chawls in Worli and neighbouring areas and who set up a vast network of CCTV cameras across Mumbai These are the key issues and Mumbaikars will vote on that basis Satam told reportersHe said people from across the city have supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in past elections and will continue to do soThe Union and state governments also expedited the Navi Mumbai International Airport Citizens want this pace of development which was never offered during the 25 years of rule by others Just meetings between cousins have no political value people are more interested in who will solve their problems he added reported PTIBJP MLC Pravin Darekar also downplayed the meetingAs a junior political worker I would be delighted to see the two cousins come together as Maharashtra has a history of civil discourse and aligning with likeminded groups But it is not the time to speak of their alliance Darekar said reported PTIHe sought to know what Uddhav Thackerays position would be in the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA if he chose to align with Raj Thackeray There is no point in rushing to claim that their alliance will bring Shiv Sena UBT and MNS to power in the BMC he said reported PTISena UBT Congress and Sharad Pawarled NCP SP are partners in the Opposition bloc MVAAmid a buzz over their panMaharashtra alliance the Sena UBT and MNS faced a setback last month in the election to the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd when the panel backed by the two parties lost all 21 seatsWith inputs from PTI