Uddhav, Raj Thackeray Meet Again Amid Alliance Buzz For Maharashtra Local Body Polls | Politics News

Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray’s July 5 rally raised alliance hopes. (PTI Photo)

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray once again met on Sunday amid buzz over a possible alliance for the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra.

The Thackeray cousins were attending the “naamkaran” ceremony of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s grandchild in Mumbai.

Videos of Raj, Uddhav, and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Anil Desai and Milind Narvekar, chatting in a playful mood have surfaced on social media platforms.

Later, in an unannounced development, Raj drove to Uddhav’s residence, Matoshree, and held a closed-door meeting with his brother.

According to sources, the meeting, which lasted for nearly 40 minutes, was entirely private and confidential. No prior schedule had been made public, and the visit came as a complete surprise—even to senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders.

The purpose of today’s meeting remained undisclosed, but the timing and secrecy surrounding it have sparked speculation in political circles about a possible alliance between the two parties ahead of the local body polls.

The meetings between Raj and Uddhav have become more frequent after their joint July 5 “victory” rally to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s rollback of its contentious orders on three-language formula for students of classes 1 to 5 amid charges of imposition of Hindi in the state dominated by Marathi speakers.

Last month, the former Chief Minister visited the MNS president’s residence ’Shivtirth’ in Dadar to meet the latter’s mother, Kunda ’mavshi’ (mother’s sister). Both Raj and Uddhav are maternal as well as paternal cousins.

Uddhav visited ’Shivtirth’ in August too, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. In July, Raj visited Matoshree to wish the latter on his birthday.

Although Raj quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, blaming Uddhav for his exit, the drubbing of their parties in the 2024 assembly polls appears to have pushed the rivals to improve ties.

Both parties have dropped enough hints of forging an alliance for the upcoming polls to local bodies, including the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), but have not yet announced a formal tie-up.

(With inputs from agencies)