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This is an archive article published on July 7, 2023

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray get talking, Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS leaders raise pitch for reunion

The first move came from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena earlier this week with its supporters putting up banners in Mumbai calling for the cousins to unite.

raj thackeray uddhav thackeray sanjay rautShiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut. (Express file photo)
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Uddhav and Raj Thackeray get talking, Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS leaders raise pitch for reunion
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With the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) weakening the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have opened a channel of communication with Uddhav Thackeray and cousin Raj Thackeray holding discussions.

“Both brothers have established contact…both have held discussions in the wake of the current political situation,” a top Shiv Sena (UBT) leader told The Indian Express on Friday.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders did not rule out the possibility of Uddhav and Raj coming together after a gap of 17 years in the wake of the emerging political scenario in the state where both parties are struggling to establish themselves. MNS leaders too are positive about the possibility of a reunion.

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raj uddhav thackeray Raj Thackarey and Uddhav Thackarey. (Express archive photo)

“I cannot reveal anything at this juncture. But yes, some activity is going on…You will soon come to know,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut said.

Later, speaking to ANI, Raut said, “There is no need for mediation to talk to Raj Thackeray…Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are brothers…My friendship with Raj Thackeray is known to everybody. Our political paths have separated but we have shared a large part of our lives with each other. We still have an emotional attachment.”

Former Aurangabad MP Chandrakant Khaire, who belongs to the Shiv Sena (UBT), said, “People are waiting for the two brothers to come together. But nothing can be said at this juncture.”

The first move in this regard came earlier this week from the MNS with its supporters putting up banners in Mumbai calling for the cousins to unite. On his part, Raj Thackeray said he would speak about it at his public rally.

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bal raj uddhav thackeray Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray with son Uddhav and nephew Raj. (Express archive)

Subsequently, Raut and MNS leader Abhijit Panse met on Thursday. The duo travelled together from Raut’s residence at Bhandup in Mumbai to the Saamana office located in Prabhadevi. Panse, however, denied he had given any proposal to Raut and said that it was a personal meeting.

MNS sources said that the party had earlier too made two offers to the Shiv Sena (UBT) but it had rejected the idea of working together. In a TV interview, Raj had said that he had spoken to Uddhav about coming together but there was no response from the other side.

When contacted, Bala Nandgaonkar, who is known as the right-hand man of Raj Thackeray, said, “I have been making efforts to bring the two brothers on one platform right from the beginning…If they come together, it will be in the larger interest of Maharashtra.”

Asked about the banners put up by MNS supporters, Nandgaonkar said, “Supporters have expressed their sentiments. They are in a mood to join hands with the Shiv Sena (UBT) but the final decision has to be taken by both the brothers.”

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.   Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were  asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.     Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More


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