Industries Minister Uday Samant called on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday fueling speculations and providing fodder to the rumor mills.
The meeting of Samant was important when his name was doing rounds for the possible switchover to the BJP. Stoutly refuting the possibility, the minister had said that many faces from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena were keen to join the Eknath Shinde-led faction of the party. Recently, former MLA Rajan Salvi, a Thackeray confidant from Ratnagiri district, joined the Shiv Sena in the midst of reported non-approval by Samant and his brother MLA Kiran Samant.
Refusing to draw any political overtones, Samant, emerging from the MNS chief’s Shivaji Park residence, said he met the leader to thank him for attending the Vishwa Marathi Sammelan held recently in Pune. “He attended the sammelan on my invitation and since then I could not meet him,” said the minister.
Samant’s meeting is also important given the somewhat strained relationship between the Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the MNS since the state assembly elections held in November. Thackeray’s son Amit lost the Mahim assembly in a triangular fight, and Shinde man Sada Sarvankar also lost, making Thackeray-led Shiv Sena man Mahesh Sawant’s road clear to victory.
Meanwhile, reacting to the meeting, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who is also the state unit chief of the BJP, downplayed it saying such meetings keep taking place. “Raj Thackeray has friendly ties with everyone. I also have friendly ties with him. You don’t need to read anything more about the meeting,” said the leader.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also met Raj Thackeray and had breakfast.
A speculation is that if the BJP and the MNS join hands leaving the Shiv Sena to fight on its own, the Shinde-led party may try to woo the MNS leaders.
