20 March,2024 05:45 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Devendra Fadnavis/ File Photo
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked on Wednesday that discussions between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and MNS chief Raj Thackeray were constructive, and the situation would become clearer in the coming days.
Thackeray's meeting with Shah in Delhi has fuelled suspicion that the BJP is considering forming an alliance with the MNS in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024. Fadnavis refrained from commenting extensively on the meeting, claiming that it was premature, but promised that details would be disclosed once the situation was clearer, reported PTI.
"Raj Thackeray met Amit Shah in Delhi. It would be premature to comment on it immediately. The picture will be clear in the next few days, and we will brief you in detail," the PTI report quoted Devendra Fadnavis as saying.
Bala Nandgaonkar, a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader, affirmed that the party would contest the Lok Sabha elections under Thackeray's leadership and awaited his return to Mumbai for further orders. "We are waiting for his return to Mumbai," he said.
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Raj Thackeray created the MNS in 2006 after leaving the Shiv Sena, which was run at the time by his uncle Balasaheb Thackeray, reported PTI.
If an alliance is established, the MNS is projected to receive one seat to represent Mumbai.
According to the report, concerning the seat-sharing arrangement within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, particularly in critical constituencies such as Baramati and Madha, Fadnavis emphasised the shared goal of winning these seats to support Narendra Modi's re-election as Prime Minister. Sunetra Pawar, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is considering running against incumbent Supriya Sule in Baramati, although certain local politicians within the BJP's supporters are opposed.
"Be it Baramati or Madha, everyone aims to win the seats and make Narendra Modi the prime minister again," Fadnavis added.
During a meeting with Fadnavis and other BJP officials in Mumbai, Harshvardhan Patil, a former minister and BJP leader from Indapur in Pune district, emphasised the necessity of leaders avoiding making personal remarks and relayed feedback from his supporters, PTI report added.
"I met BJP leaders and shared the views of my supporters. We had a detailed discussion. We will wait for the party's response to our feedback," he told reporters in Pune.
According to the report, the Patil family of Indapur and the Pawar family of Baramati have a long history of political enmity, with Patil failing to win previous elections against NCP's Datta Bharane, who is associated with Ajit Pawar's NCP.
