Giving currency to the ongoing speculation about the possibility about his party having a post-Assembly poll arrangement with the Shiv Sena, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday disclosed that he and his Sena president-cousin Uddhav Thackeray had tried to forge a pre-poll alliance between the two parties, but the initiative did not materialise.
In a disclosure made during in an interaction programme telecast by a leading Marathi television channel, Raj said that acting on the feelers he had received from a confidant of his cousin, he had expressed readiness to Uddhav to have a pre-poll alliance with the Sena.
“After being approached by a confidant of my cousin, I had spoken to Uddhav and my expressed my readiness to have a pre-poll tie-up with the Sena. This happened after the BJP snapped its ties with the Sena. However, the move to forge an alliance between the MNS and Sena did not materialise, because there was not much of time and Uddhav did not also push matters,” Raj said.
Replying a question, Raj said: “let me come clean what transpired between me and Uddhav after the BJP snapped its ties with the Sena. Bajirao Dhangat of Saamana (Shiv Sena’s official mouth-piece) met me and told me that there was a need Thackeray cousins come together politically. He offered to mediate between me and Uddhav. I gave a go ahead to Dhangat for mediation”.
“later on Uddhav and I had word with each other over telephone. By then the BJP had snapped its ties with the Sena. During the phone call, Uddhav said the BJP had betrayed Sena. I told him that as an outsider, I could foresee the break-up, but why couldn’t he as an insiderIJ," Raj recalled.
“During the telephonic conversation, Uddhav mooted three things: we could hold talks and discuss seat-sharing, avoid criticising each other during the campaigning, and look at post-poll scenario later. I agreed to start with talks about seats, and deputed my associate Bala Nandgaonkar to speak to Anil Desai (Sena’s Rajya Sabha member) the next morning, Raj said, revealing that the conversation happened on September 25 night after BJP had announced the snapping of the alliance with Sena.
After the call, Raj met Nandgaonkar and other party colleagues, and chalked out a plan as to how the seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties could be worked out between the two parties. “We prepared a paper about what could be done between the two parties. Then I told Bala to call Desai next morning and hold detailed discussions,” Raj said.
Thackeray said next morning, Nandgaonkar telephoned Desai and scheduled a meeting around 3 pm. “When Bala telephoned him for the third time in the day at 3 pm, Desai told him he was with Uddhav, and would soon call him back. Just one day was left before the nomination closed on September 27 evening, We waited for the call till 5 pm on September 26 and when there was no further response from the Sena, we decided that MNS will fight the polls alone, and distributed the A and B forms to MNS candidates waiting outside my house. What more could have I doneIJ,” Raj asked.
Queried if the Sena-MNS would come together after the polls, Raj said: “I have told you how I had no ego problems. I tried to work things out till the last moments before the nominations closed.”