POSSIBILITY OF A NEW ALLIANCE IN MAHARASHTRA? RAJ THACKERAY, SHINDE AND FADNAVIS COME TOGETHER FOR DIWALI CELEBRATIONS

Diwali this year is probably going to be a chance to patch up the strained political ties in Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray, the leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), together with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the "Deep Utsav" celebration that his party had organized at Shivaji Park in Dadar.

This happened the day after Shinde and Deputy Fadnavis were on stage together for the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) elections alongside Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Raj Thackeray has met with the chief minister and his deputy twice in the past month, indicating the possibility of forming a strategic alliance prior to the 2019 elections for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

For Ganeshotsav a month earlier, Raj Thackeray and his family also went to Shinde's official residence, Varsha, while Fadnavis was seen at Raj Thackeray's Dadar residence, "Shivtirth." It was observed that Sharmila, the wife of Raj Thackeray, gave Fadnavis a traditional Maharashtrian welcome.

It's interesting to note that the BJP withdrew its candidate from the Andheri by-poll on November 3 following Raj Thackeray's letter to Fadnavis. Additionally, Raj Thackeray was visited by BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and BJP Mumbai president Ashish Sheler to inquire about his health following recent hip surgery.

It is suspected that the BJP, Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, and MNS will compete against Maha Vikas Aghadi, which consists of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress in the upcoming civic and local body elections. This speculation is fueled by the growing closeness between the leaders of the MNS and the BJP as well as Eknath Shinde, who recently parted ways with Uddhav Thackeray.

Indirectly criticising Uddhav Thackeray during a recent function, CM Eknath Shinde said, "We wanted to be here (at Shivaji park) jointly for the last ten years but couldn't do it, for some reasons."

Additionally, Chandrsashekhar Bawankule, the state president of the BJP, stated that there is no prohibition on political representatives from different parties gathering together during festive holidays. He went on to say that those who find politics in it are unfortunate not to be a part of this positive tradition in Maharashtra.

Sandip Deshpande, the leader of the MNS, said: “We are preparing on our own with full strength for the upcoming elections. However, we cannot predict what will happen in the future as our party chief, Raj Thackeray, will take the final decision and we will follow it.”