A day after the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS panel was routed in the BEST Employees’ Credit Society elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Thursday in Mumbai, setting off speculation about his next political move.
The meeting, held at the CM’s official residence Varsha, lasted for over half an hour.
Contesting under the ‘Utkarsh’ panel, the alliance lost all 19 seats it fielded candidates on, while the BJP-Sena front swept the contest. The cooperative elections are being billed as a trial run ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
MNS sources maintained that the Thursday meeting was unrelated to politics. “The discussion pertained to several development and infrastructure-related projects and issues concerning Mumbai and Maharashtra. It has nothing to do with politics,” a senior MNS functionary said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders also sought to downplay the development. Party MP Sanjay Raut said, “Let them meet, what’s wrong with it? He may have gone to invite Fadnavis to his home during the Ganesh festival. There is no need to speculate. The exact reason will be revealed by them only.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare echoed the view. “This could be a courtesy meeting or related to development work. Politicians keep meeting the chief minister for such issues. There is no need to give political hype to it,” she said.
The meeting, however, has raised eyebrows in political circles given its timing. Only last month, the Sena (UBT) and MNS had held a joint rally to slam the state government’s now-withdrawn three-language formula, projecting themselves as defenders of Marathi pride.
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For Uddhav Thackeray, the defeat marked the end of his party’s nine-year dominance over the credit society, while for Raj Thackeray, it once again highlighted the MNS’s organisational weaknesses. The outcome was particularly disheartening as the voter base comprised largely Marathi-speaking employees, considered a core support bloc of the Thackerays.
The poll loss and the closed-door engagement with Fadnavis have now left workers of both parties unsettled. The development has also fuelled speculation that Raj Thackeray, who had earlier been courted by the BJP-led Mahayuti, may be recalibrating his political position ahead of the BMC polls.
Over the past two months, Uddhav Thackeray and his party had made repeated overtures for a broader “Marathi manoos” unity, urging Raj to join hands for the larger cause of regional identity.
While both sides insist the meeting between Raj Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis was confined to civic and infrastructure matters, political observers note that its significance will become clearer in the weeks ahead, as alliances for the BMC elections begin to take shape.
