Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray (left) and MNS chief Raj Thackeray (right). (Express Archive/Pradeep Kocharekar)
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray sounded positive about a rapprochement on Saturday. The two leaders said they were ready to keep aside their “minor differences” for the larger interest of the people of Maharashtra.
Raj Thackeray made the first move. During a podcast with filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar released on Saturday, the MNS chief said, “For me, the interest of Maharashtra is bigger while everything else is secondary… I can keep aside our minor disputes.”
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Then, for good measure, he added, “’I am ready to work with Uddhav (Thackeray) but the only question is whether he too is ready to work with me.”
In response, Uddhav Thackeray, while addressing members of the Sena (UBT)’s trade union in Mumbai later in the day, said he, too, was ready to put aside their disputes for the sake of the Marathi language and the people of Maharashtra. He, however, asked Raj Thackeray not to hobnob with those who are anti-Maharashtra.
Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “He (Raj) is a Thackeray. Uddhav too is a Thackeray. Their relationship is permanent. Due to political differences, they have chosen separate paths. Even then, Uddhav Thackeray has always walked on the path that is in the interest of Maharashtra. I have heard Raj Thackeray’s statement. He has said that for the interest of Maharashtra, he is ready to keep aside all disputes. To this, Uddhav has said that he has no dispute or any differences with Raj. He said even if there are disputes, it won’t take long to resolve them. This is what Uddhav Thackeray was saying during the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.”
Raut said Raj Thackeray should deal with those who are against the interests of Maharashtra. “We had made it clear during the Lok Sabha elections that the enemies of Maharashtra should not be given any kind of help. Uddhav Thackeray had said that there are some powers that underestimate Maharashtra. They keep conspiring against the interests of the Marathi manoos (people). Raj Thackeray should not mingle or sit alongside them… he should adopt this stand. If he is taking this stand, then we are ready to… hold discussions,” he added.
Raut said the BJP wants to finish the Thackeray identity. “In such a situation, if both the Thackerays show positive intent to join hands, Maharashtra will welcome it. We are looking at this development positively. Now, since Uddhav Thackeray has made his intentions clear, we will await a response.”
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In 2005, Raj Thackeray had quit the undivided Shiv Sena, a party founded by his uncle Bal Thackeray, after reportedly feeling sidelined. Thereafter, he launched the MNS in March 2006.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
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