Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis drove down to the residence of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday morning and held a meeting with the latter over breakfast, sparking intense speculation in the state political circles over the import of the meeting.
Fadnavis’ meeting with the MNS chief comes on the heels of the latter joining the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ranks in alleging the manipulation of the EVM machines by the ruling BJP during the recent Maharashtra Assembly polls.
So much so that NCP (SP)’s national working president and MP Supriya Sule made a reference to the MNS chief when she addressed a joint news conference in New Delhi last week along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut on the alleged irregularities in the recent State Assembly polls.
Monday’s meeting also comes in the run-up to the crucial polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other major civic bodies in the state. The speculation is once again rife if the MNS will team up with the BJP-led MahaYuti in fighting the local body polls in the state.
What transpired at the meeting was not immediately known. While there was no comment forthcoming from Raj, Fadnavis said that there was nothing political about his meeting with the MNS chief.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, Fadnavis said: “There was no politics involved in it (the meeting). After the State Assembly polls, he (Raj) congratulated me…he called me and invited me to his residence. I had promised him that I would visit his house. That’s why I joined him for breakfast at his house. We discussed various things at the meeting”.
It may be recalled that the MNS had extended its support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and did not field any candidates. In the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls, the MNS fielded 125 candidates. However, none of the MNS candidates, including his son Amit Thackeray – who had contested the polls from Mahim constituency in Mumbai, won the polls.
The MNS, which secured mere 1.8 per cent votes in the State Assembly polls, faces threat of losing its status as a recognised political party and its railway engine poll symbol after its dismal performance in the Assembly polls.
After the State Assembly polls, Raj had expressed serious doubts about the State poll outcome, alleging the possible manipulation of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Speaking to media persons, Rajk had said: “Senior Congress leader Babalsaheb Thorat who used to win from Sangamner with a record margin of 70,000 to 80,000 votes from last eight elections, but this time, he lost by 10,000 votes. Besides, our party candidate Raju Patil used to get a majority of votes from among 1500 voters in his village, but this time, he got zero votes. How is it possible he could not get even a single vote from his own village?”
Alluding to doubts expressed by the MNS chief on EVMs, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule had said: “It is not just the Opposition MVA, even the MNS chief expressed doubts about the EVM. He said recently that his party candidate (Raju Patil) did not get his own vote in his village”.
