Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Saturday that his party is positive about an alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray for Marathi people. Isolated cousins Raj and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had given a wind to speculation about possible reconciliation last month, indicating that they could ignore some issues and join hands in the widespread interest of Marathi Manus (Marathi speaking people). About two decades ago there was a bit of bitter separation between the two.
Also read this: Never seen such a big action before, Eknath Shinde said about the attack on Naxalism
Raut said that the Shiv Sena (UBT) has a positive attitude towards an alliance with MNS, which is called ‘MNS’ in Marathi, while he is trying to play words with the name of the party. Raut told reporters, “Uddhavji’s attitude about an alliance with Raj Thackeray for the sake of Marathi is ‘MNS’ and ‘Dil Se’.” Local body elections in Maharashtra, including the municipal corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Nagpur and Pune, are scheduled to be held later this year.
Also read this: Maharashtra: Big encounter in Gadchiroli, security forces killed four Naxalites
Earlier, senior MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said on Thursday that Raj Thackeray will consider the alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) only when a concrete proposal comes out. He said that his previous efforts for the alliance were seen as betrayal. He said, “If the Shiv Sena (UBT) feels that an alliance with MNS is possible, then they should come forward with a concrete proposal. Raj Thackeray will decide on it.” Deshpande recalled the previous examples when MNS started negotiating for the alliance, but faced “betrayal”.