Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister and the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, met with Uddhav Thackeray, the head of the Shiv Sena (UBT), at his residence in Mumbai on Friday. The Delhi CM was accompanied by colleagues including Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha. Aaditya Thackeray was also present to receive the AAP leaders. The meeting is significant as it comes days after the Election Commission allotted the 'Shiv Sena' name and 'bow and arrow' symbol to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who split from the Sena last year and formed a government with the support of the BJP.
After the meeting, Kejriwal expressed confidence that Thackeray would win all future elections but did not confirm whether AAP would align with Shiv Sena (UBT) in the future. “You will get to know when elections are announced." “There is only one party in India which thinks of elections 24X7. We are not that party. There are many issues in front of us like the farmers and unemployment," he added. Recently, the AAP has announced its plans to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, while both Thackeray and Kejriwal are critics of the BJP."Uddhavji's party has been stolen -- the name, the symbol everything. But I want to say only one thing his father was a sher and he is sher ka beta. I am confident that he will get justice from the Supreme Court and will sweep the coming elections as people's support is with him," Kejriwal said. The meeting between Kejriwal and Thackeray is noteworthy because it comes at a time when there is speculation about the formation of a non-BJP, non-Congress alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Both Thackeray and Kejriwal are bitter critics of the BJP. Delhi chief minister also chose to praise Uddhav for efficiently handling Covid-19 as chief minister during the pandemic. He also accepted they learned many things during the pandemic and also adopted several practices in Delhi.