Raj's visit to BJP office upsets Sena

Raj had come to inaugurate an office of the MNS Janadhikar Samiti at the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) building. After the programme was over, Raj, instead of driving back to his residence in Dadar, walked to the BJP office that is just across the street.

One-hour meeting

 BJP state president Sudhir Mungantiwar and general secretary Vinod Tawde welcomed Raj at the party office and were closeted with him for an hour.

What transpired among them could not be ascertained but Sudhir Mungantiwar claimed that it was just a courtesy call by the MNS supremo and nothing political was discussed among them.

However, the visit raised political temperatures in Maharashtra as Raj Thackeray’s bete noire Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena is the oldest ally of the BJP in Maharshtra.

 There had been numerous speculative reports in past about the BJP aligning itself with the MNS and shunning the company of Sena, but the saffron party have always denied the reports.

Nevertheless, the possibility of a tie-up between the BJP and the MNS in the state exists, as several state and national BJP leaders have excellent relations with Raj Thackeray.
The parting of ways of the warring Thackeray cousins and the presence of MNS in electoral arena have caused a lot of damage to the BJP, which had tried in vain to bring the two regional parties together.

According to BJP sources in the state, so far as Shiva Sena is led by the octogenarian Bal Thackeray, the BJP will remain wedded to that party.