Amid growing talk of a possible alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut addressed the speculation on Thursday. He said the two leaders should unite to save Mumbai. “I never said that MNS and Shiv Sena are contesting elections together. What I said is that there is tremendous public pressure, strong pressure, that Shiv Sena and MNS should contest the local body elections together, especially in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation,” he said.
He clarified that the INDIA bloc was formed for Lok Sabha elections and the Maha Vikas Aghadi was created for the state assembly. “I was asked what is the status of INDIA bloc? I said that it was formed for Lok Sabha polls and Maha Vikas Aghadi was for Assembly elections. There is no need of these two in local bodies elections. Local bodies elections are fought over local issues. People want that if Mumbai has to be saved then Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray must come together to contest polls,” he said.
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Raut also responded to MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s order asking party leaders not to speak to the media. “Raj Thackeray has his own style of working. We speak openly. He may choose not to. Time will show what is planned,” Raut said.
His remarks come days after Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray appeared together at a public rally in Mumbai for the first time in nearly 20 years. The event was held to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s decision to withdraw two resolutions proposing Hindi as a third language in Maharashtra schools.
During the event, Uddhav Thackeray said the two leaders had “come together and will stay together.” The statement sparked fresh speculation about a possible alliance between the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) for the BMC elections.