Mumbai, June 12 (IANS) Amid talks of an alliance between two estranged brothers, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, ahead of the upcoming elections for the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday met with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief.

The meeting lasted over 45 minutes. Sources said it was about the MNS’s entry into the MahaYuti for contesting as an alliance partner in the local and civic body elections. The meeting between the two has created a buzz in the state political circles.

Although the details of the meeting are not known yet, the state BJP sources confirmed that CM Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray met at the city’s five-star hotel, but preferred not to comment on the outcome of the meeting. However, there has been no confirmation yet from MNS.

The pro alliance advocates from both Shiv Sena(UBT) and MNS were caught unawares about CM Fadnavis’ move to hold an interaction with Raj Thackeray.

Incidentally, CM Fadnavis enjoys a good rapport with Raj Thackeray. Also, the Shiv Sena chief, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, has good relations with the MNS chief. Both the CM and deputy CM want the latter to be part of the MahaYuti to take on Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena(UBT) and the Maha Vikas Aghadi in general in the BMC elections and also in the rest of Maharashtra.

Both Fadnavis and Shinde have favoured Raj Thackeray. The association is perceived to checkmate Uddhav Thackeray and also to impress the Marathis in general.

Raj Thackeray did not win even a single seat in the state Assembly elections, but he enjoys a large-scale support from the Marathis, which has been the key vote bank of the Shiv Sena, founded by late Balasaheb Thackeray in the 1960s.

CM Fadnavis, in particular, has been pitching for hoisting the flag atop BMC, and in MahaYuti has been attempting to capture power in India’s richest body, thereby ending the control of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. In addition, the MahaYuti, by bringing Raj Thackeray in its fold, wants to continue its victory march after the stellar performance in the state Assembly elections held last year.

As far as Raj Thackeray is concerned, a section of party workers believe that going with the BJP-led MahaYuti will benefit the party to spread its wings by effectively playing Hindutva and Marathi Manoos cards. They also argue that Uddhav Thackeray has compromised on Hindutva as practised by Balasaheb Thackeray by joining hands with Congress and NCP to come to power in 2109 by ditching the traditional ally BJP. Another section claimed that aligning with Uddhav Thackeray may spoil its poll prospects and erode the Hindutva and Marathi Manoos voters.

The meeting between CM Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray comes two days after the state urban development department issued a notification on initiating the drafting of ward boundaries for 29 municipal corporations, including the BMC, especially in the wake of the recent Supreme Court order directing the state government to complete the election process in four months.

The other key civic bodies include Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Kalyan-Dombivli.

The Urban Development department has asked the Municipal Commissioners to start preparing ward boundary drafts, which will be sent to the State Election Commission (SEC) for approval. These civic bodies will also need to invite suggestions and objections from citizens and provide hearings before finalising the boundaries. Currently, these civic bodies are under the administrator’s rule.

–IANS

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