Raj-Uddhav Bond Grows Stronger As Civic Polls Near
The visit, however, came amid heightened speculation about the two cousins coming together for the all-important elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
Mumbai: For the second time in a week, MNS chief Raj Thackeray met his cousin, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence ‘Matoshri’ on Sunday. While Raj described it a ‘family lunch,’ the meeting went on for more than two and half hours which has further raised the possibility of Thackeray brothers coming together for the upcoming civic body elections in Maharashtra.
Raj, accompanied by his mother Kunda, wife Sharmila, son Amit, daughter-in-law Mitali and grandson drove to Matoshree, the residence of Uddhav. At Matoshree, they were welcomed by Uddhav, his wife Rashmi and their sons Aaditya and Tejas.
The meeting assumes significance as after nearly two decades, Raj brought his mother to Matoshree. “It’s a family meeting. My mother is with me,” he said.
According to sources, Raj gifted Uddhav with a horse-drawn statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and a Tulsi sapling during the meeting.
The visit marked the second such interaction between the Thackeray cousins in a week. Raj Thackeray had also visited Matoshree last Sunday, after attending a function at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s family.
This was also the sixth meeting between the two in the last three months. On July 5, the Thackeray cousins first came together to celebrate a victory rally after the Maharashtra government withdrew two contentious GRs of making Hindi ‘mandatory’ by the state government and implementation of the three-language formula for students of Classes 1-5.
In between, Raj had gone to Matoshree to wish Uddhav on his 65th birthday on July 27. Uddhav, too, had visited Raj’s Shivteerth residence in Dadar along with his family in August for Ganpati darshan.
The two cousins are likely to meet again when a delegation, comprising NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and other opposition leaders, will call upon the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra on Tuesday.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have not yet announced an alliance for the civic polls, though their leaders have confirmed that it is on the cards. Raut last week had said that the alliance will be forged with ‘heart and mind.’
“This alliance will be made from ‘dil’ (heart) and ‘dimag’ (mind). This is not a political alliance. This is an alliance made with tan-man-dhan,” Raut said.
“Whatever anyone says, the dialogue and relationship between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have become very strong. Even if someone tries their hardest to break it, the talks have progressed much further. There is no turning back now,” Raut had said.
