Sharad Pawar met Uddhav Thackeray a day after meeting Sanjay Raut and Devendra Fadnavis (File)
Bombay:
Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray a day after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut met with BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, sparking enormous speculation and theories.
The leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) met with Mr Thackeray, who is alliance partner Shiv Sena – the other is Congress – for 40 minutes at the chief minister’s house, but what they discussed n ‘is not known, the PTI news agency reported citing unnamed sources.
The two leaders may have discussed plans to further ease the coronavirus security guidelines as part of the phased “unlock” process, PTI reported. Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India.
The reunion of Maharashtra’s two main leaders within 24 hours after Sanjay Raut and Devendra Fadnavis spoke at a luxury hotel in Mumbai, however, raised eyebrows at a time when Shiv Sena and BJP leaders clashed bitterly in audience on a range of issues, the latest being the Sushant Singh Rajput affair and the demolition in the office of actor Kangana Ranaut.
Sanjay Raut, confirming the meeting, said it was for an interview with spokesman Shiv Sena “Saamana” – of which he is in charge – and that Uddhav Thackeray was aware of it.
“Devendra Fadnavis is not our enemy. We worked with him. I met Fadnavis for his interview for Saamna. It was a predetermined meeting. Even Uddhav Thackeray was aware of this,” Mr Raut told reporters.
“Is it a crime to meet Fadnavis, who is a former chief minister and now leader of the opposition in the State Assembly? We have ideological differences but we are not enemies,” he said. -he adds.
Mr Raut said he interviewed NCP chief Sharad Pawar and also announced talks with Devendra Fadnavis, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Interior Minister Amit Shah.
Shiv Sena and the BJP had contested Maharashtra’s election as allies but argued over how to form a government together, with the Shiv Sena insisting on a better share of ministries. The Sena eventually severed ties with the BJP and formed a government with rivals NCP and Congress.
