Thackeray and Fadnavis take a walk together at Maharashtra legislature building, trigger speculations

Asked whether the meeting was the beginning of an end to the disagreement between the two, Uddhav Thackeray says not every meeting takes place with intentions

Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray display rare bonhomie at Vidhan Bhavan

Otherwise at loggerheads, Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray were seen having an amicable conversation at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Thursday.

After almost three years since the Maharashtra Assembly polls and in the wake of their strained relations after the Shiv Sena split, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had a jovial meeting in the public on Thursday, triggering speculations across the corridors of power.

Thackeray, who arrived at the legislature building in the morning, was informed that Fadnavis’s convoy was behind him. The former chief minister along with MLAs and MLCs from his Shiv Sena (UBT) waited for the BJP leader at the gate. Thackeray and Fadnavis exchanged greetings with smiling faces and had a jovial conversation.

#DevendraFadnavis, #UddhavThackeray display rare bonhomie at Vidhan Bhavan.https://t.co/kIjAwa8U0N pic.twitter.com/87tIK11xAz

— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) March 23, 2023

Later speaking to reporters, Thackeray said it was merely an exchange of greetings and nothing much. “In the past, the (political) atmosphere was more open. Nowadays it is said that discussions held behind a closed door turn out to be more fruitful. Therefore, if we ever hold a meeting behind closed doors, we will surely let you know,” he said.

Asked whether the meeting was the beginning of an end to the disagreement between the two, Thackeray said that not every meeting took place with intentions. “We both came to the legislative building at the same time and therefore exchanged greetings,” he said.

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The relations between Thackeray and Fadnavis soured after the former’s party snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), after the 2019 Assembly polls. Last year, 40 Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde rebelled against Thackeray and formed a new government with the help of the BJP.

Shinde has won the battle in the Election Commission with the party name and its symbol going his way. The BJP has been targeting the Thackeray family since the formation of the MVA.

At a recent MVA meeting, Thackeray told workers of the three parties to ensure that there would be no electoral alliance with the BJP in the future.

A former chief minister from the Congress said that nobody should read too much into the meeting. “Maharashtra’s political culture is such that leaders of parties with diametrically opposite ideologies share personal relations. Nobody should read too much into it,” he said.

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