Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday, July 27, 2023, denied rumours of joining hands with his estranged cousin and founder-president of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray.
“There is no such discussion as of now. I will not comment on ifs and buts [regarding a proposal from the MNS to join forces]… There is no need of speculating in this vein,” said Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, during the second part of his interview with Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
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There has been intense speculation in the past few weeks of the two cousins coming together in wake of rapidly changing political alignments in Maharashtra following Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar joining the ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena government.
Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, on the occasion of his 63rd birthday, struck a defiant note against the BJP, daring PM Modi and Amit Shah to try and finish his Sena (UBT).
“Long ago, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had saved the skins of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah [during the 2002 Gujarat riots]…. Today, they are repaying the favour by trying to finish-off the Sena. If they get any happiness in doing this, they can go ahead. But I have the blessings of my father and the support of the people,” Mr. Uddhav Thackeray said.
Remarking that he would not succumb to the pressure of central agencies, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray expressed confidence that the Opposition would defeat the BJP’s “dictatorial regime” in 2024.
“I will not succumb to any pressure and will fight till I win. Splitting opposition parties by using ED [Enforcement Directorate], and CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] are not examples of good political culture,” he said.
Mr. Uddhav Thackeray lavished praise on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, remarking: “When I met him and when we talked, I felt what we had heard about him was totally wrong. Contrary to the perception created about Rahul Gandhi, I found that he listens to others very carefully and then explains his stand.”
Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, who had earlier lauded Deputy CM and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar for his efficiency, now chastised the latter for taunting his uncle Sharad Pawar.
Taking objection to Mr. Ajit Pawar’s remark that Mr. Sharad Pawar ought “to retire” instead of carrying on, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray said such remarks against “elders who had done so much” were undignified.
After the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction joined the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena government led by Devendra Fadnavis and Mr. Shinde, the MNS started a signature campaign across the State asking the public to express their outrage over the latest political developments where leaders rampantly compromised ideologies for the sake of power.
Following its rout in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election and its general decline in the State’s politics, the MNS had changed its ideological direction by veering towards ‘Hindutva’ politics, signalled by Mr. Raj Thackeray’s adoption of a saffron flag incorporating Chhatrapati Shivaji’s royal seal or ‘Rajmudra’ in 2020.
Since then, the MNS has inched ever closer to the BJP in an attempt to seize the ‘Hindutva’ space from the Shiv Sena led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray – the common adversary of Mr. Shinde’s faction, the BJP and the MNS.
The developments led to speculation about the estranged cousins — Mr. Raj Thackeray and Mr. Uddhav Thackeray — coming together. Both leaders have maintained a studied silence on the matter so far, with Mr. Uddhav Thackeray clearing the air now.
