Of late, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has been in the news more for his meetings than anything else.
While his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week led to speculation if there was a rift in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, his dinner and “informal talks” with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday is learnt to have been about a possible tie-up between the parties for the civic polls, which have been pending since 2022.
Though both camps officially said there was no political reason for their catch-up over dinner, sources in the Sena confirmed it had been in the works for a while. “First, state Industries Minister and Sena leader Uday Samant met Raj and was also present in Tuesday’s meeting along with MNS leaders Sandeep Deshpande and Abhijit Panse,” a source said.
A senior BJP leader said, “The possibility that the local body polls and the Sena’s plans were discussed cannot be ruled out. Discussions may also have been held on what and why Shinde needs to do.”
Sena insiders said the Deputy CM might have attempted to “iron out his differences with Raj Thackeray” as he prefers a direct “Sena versus Sena” battle in his home turf of Thane, where the MNS can play a “decisive role” given that it has vocally played Marathi identity politics here.
Sources said both Shinde and Thackeray need to be “on the same wavelength” on the question of an alliance. “Thackeray cannot take a different stand like he did during the Assembly polls,” said a source.
Differences between the two leaders, who were former colleagues in the undivided Sena, crept up last year over the Mahim Assembly seat, where Thackeray fielded his son Amit. Even as the BJP extended support to Amit, Shinde refused to withdraw his candidate, leading to a triangular fight that was eventually won by Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Mahesh Sawant.
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Following the Mahayuti’s massive overall victory, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Thackeray. But, at the time, the differences between Shinde and the MNS chief persisted.
Claiming that a decision on “whether or not to get a new party into the alliance” for the local body polls will be taken only after the dates are announced, senior BJP leader Raosaheb Danve said, “The BJP is in alliance with the Sena and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar. A collective decision on alliances will be taken by the leaders of the three parties. We will take adequate feedback from our district units before taking a call on whether we need an alliance or not.”
In recent elections, the MNS, which is not allied with either the Mahayuti or the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, has usually chosen to reveal its cards before the polls. While it did not field any candidates in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and pledged support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it went solo in the Assembly elections, fielding 137 candidates while maintaining an “understanding” with the BJP in a few seats.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
