Uddhav, Raj meet for 45 minutes sans party leaders

Cousins ​​Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray held a closed-door meeting for almost 45 minutes on Thursday morning after the cousins ​​went to his house at Shivteertha in Dadar in Mumbai. None of the senior party leaders attended the special meeting, but Uddhav Thackeray called his nephew and Shiv Sena (UBT MLA Varun Sardesai) for a while.

“Uddhav saaheb He arrived around 11.30 am. The meeting did not last more than 45 minutes. There was no one else present during the meeting. Uddhav Saaheb He then summoned Varun Sardesai (sitting MLA from Mumbai and nephew of Uddhav Thackeray). But he was not part of the meeting either,” said a leader. Hindu on condition of anonymity.

The meeting took place amid speculation of an alliance between the cousins ​​for the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra and also at a time when the Congress had expressed strong objections to the possibility of the MNS being included in the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Dismissing speculations about the possibility of discussion on the seat-sharing understanding, a senior leader from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena said: “Our talks are still at a preliminary stage. Local leaders in various places will have to hold several more rounds of talks with each other to get a clearer picture.” The Shiv Sena UBT leader, who is part of the party’s core team for Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region, said he was not aware of any discussion of seat distribution.

Senior leaders from both sides did not attend Thursday’s meeting and said they were not aware of the meeting’s agenda. So far, a preliminary meeting has been held between senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar and Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut. It was made a few weeks ago.

“It is difficult for them to discuss seat sharing. In my understanding, it is too early for that. Saaheb also did not hold any meeting with either of us in the party. But frankly, we do not know what the agenda is,” said a senior Shiv Sena UBT leader.

A senior leader in one of the parties said the debate was likely political and speculated that it could be related to Congress-related alliance combinations. Another leader said, “The best thing to say right now is a question mark. No one knows what this is about except the two of them.”

In the last few months, the two leaders have been meeting frequently and making joint statements. This week, the duo wrote a letter together to the State Election Commission, requesting an extension of time to object to the draft voter list.