Maharashtra BJP chief to meet Raj Thackeray today; sets precondition for tie-up with MNS

With the local body polls set to take place early next year, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil will meet MNS supremo Raj Thackeray at his residence on Friday. While dubbing it as a "courtesy meeting", Patil told the media on Thursday that political issues will also come up for discussion. However, he made it clear that BJP cannot forge an alliance with MNS until it sheds its hardline stance regarding "outsiders".

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil remarked, "I am going to Krishnakunj at 11.30 am tomorrow for a courtesy meeting with Raj Thackeray. It is but natural that when two political leaders sit together, there is a discussion on politics. We are a national party. If they retain their stance about outsiders, we cannot have an alliance with them. But we will remain friends."

This comes as speculation was rife that the two parties will join hands for the upcoming Municipal Corporation elections in Nashik, Mumbai, Pune, and Thane. On this occasion, Patil stressed that the saffron party will not let any local body election take place until the issue of OBC reservation is resolved. The Supreme Court's decision to scrap 27% OBC reservation in Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra had evoked anger across the political spectrum. 

BJP-MNS tie-up speculation

The speculation about a possible BJP-MNS tie-up dates back to the period immediately after the formation of the MVA government in November 2020. In a party meeting held in Pune, Raj Thackeray was very critical of Shiv Sena's distancing itself from Hindutva, according to sources. The party's turn towards Hindutva gained momentum after the party discarded its current flag- which has three colours- saffron, green and blue.

In another development, BJP workers in Palghar put up a banner featuring Thackeray, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis in the run-up to the District Council election. Senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar also confirmed that his party could potentially ally with the BJP to take on the MVA alliance. Meanwhile, both Fadnavis and fellow BJP MLA Ashish Shelar held "secret meetings" with the MNS chief.

Breaking his silence after his secret meeting with Thackeray, the Leader of Opposition clarified that MNS would have to bring about changes in its ideology and way of functioning. Addressing a massive rally at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on February 9, 2020, Raj Thackeray staunchly defended the CAA and the possible implementation of the National Register of Citizens. While acknowledging that the country had pressing issues such as education and unemployment, he opined that the issue of infiltrators was of utmost significance. However, there was no development vis-à-vis the alliance talks post the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.