"If the two come together, we will be happy": Maharashtra CM Fadnavis on possible Raj-Uddhav reunion

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 20 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday welcomed the possibility of a reunion between estranged cousins Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, calling it a “good” step. 

Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said, “If the two come together, we will be happy about it. If people settle their differences, it is a good thing. What else can I say about it?” 

Fadnavis was responding to Raj Thackeray’s recent statement, where the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief expressed willingness to reunite with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav by forgetting past differences. 

Uddhav also responded positively, saying that he was ready to put aside disputes for the sake of the Marathi language and Maharashtra. 

Addressing a function of his party's trade union wing, Bhartiya Kamgar Sena, in Mumbai, Uddhav said, “What I want to say is I also appeal to all Marathi people to come together for the benefit of Maharashtra and Marathi.”

He added that during the Lok Sabha elections, his party had raised the issue of industries moving from Maharashtra to Gujarat.  

“If you (Raj Thackeray) had opposed this at that time, the government currently in power at the Centre would not have existed. We would have formed a government that thinks about the welfare of Maharashtra both at the Centre and in the state,” he said. 

Uddhav stated that if Raj Thackeray had opposed the issue at that time, a government in the centre today would not have been in power. 

Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that both leaders were willing to set aside their grievances. He noted that Uddhav had placed one condition for reconciliation: that Raj Thackeray should not provide space to the "enemies of Maharashtra and Shiv Sena (UBT)." 

"Raj Thackeray has said that if there are any grudges between the two brothers, then I will keep my ego aside and will remove it (grudges) for the best interests of Maharashtra. On which Uddhav Thackeray has said that we are brothers and there are no grudges between us; if there are any, I will remove them. However, you should not give space in your home to the enemy of Maharashtra and the Shiv Sena (UBT)...If you agree on this, we will surely talk", Sanjay Raut said. 

However, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske questioned Uddhav Thackeray’s past actions against Raj. “ 

"Uddhav Thackeray had threatened that he would leave the house if any responsibility were given to Raj Thackeray. He opposed Raj Thackeray's visit to the branches in Mumbai. He separated all the workers who worked for Raj Thackeray...He should answer first why he opposed Raj Thackeray", Mhaske told reporters on Saturday. 

The developments come ahead of the much-anticipated BMC elections expected in October this year. (ANI)