Uddhav denies 'secret' meeting with cousin Raj

Contesting reports in a section of the media that he had secretly met his cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that certain vested interests were trying to create ‘misunderstanding’ and ‘confusion’ among the people about through such baseless speculation.

Denying reports in a section suggesting a possible political reconciliation between him and his once-estranged cousin Raj ahead of the forthcoming elections to the municipal corporations of Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan-Dombvli, Uddhav said: “Some vested interests, who have an axe to grind, are trying to derive political mileage, through false rumours. let me make it clear that the Shiv Sena is a strong and independent political entity. The Sena does not believe in secret political understanding or conspiracies of the kind that is being suggested in a section of the media.”

“There appears to be a drought for political news.  By trying to peddle rumours as news, some journalists are bringing down of the standard of journalism. Needless to say, the Shiv Sena will once again recapture power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in the forthcoming elections on its strength,” the Sena president said, as he ruled out the possibility of any political tie-up with the MNS.

Unlike in the past when they were bitter political rivals, the once-estranged Thackeray cousins — Uddhav and Raj — have been on talking terms for nearly now. So much so that  the second death anniversary of late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had brought the estranged Thackeray cousins — Uddhav and Raj — together at the Sena patriarch’s “Smriti Sthal” at the historic Shivraji Park here on November 17 last year, sparking speculation about a possible political reconciliation between them.