'We aren't enemies': Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis thanks opponents Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar - here's why
Sharad Pawar
and Shiv Sena(UBT) chief
Uddhav Thackeray
for praising him in the coffee table book 'Maharashtra Nayak', released at Raj Bhavan to mark his 55th birthday.
This comes amid a heightened political chatter of a reunion, especially after Fadnavis' "come to the ruling side" directed at Thackeray followed by a meeting the day after.
"We are ideological opponents and not enemies," PTI quoted Fadnavis saying. "Sharad Pawar is a large-hearted and senior leader. His comments are priceless for me," he added.
Last week, Thackeray and Fadnavis held a meeting for over 20 minutes at the office of Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde.
The meeting was held a day after Fadnavis said that Thackeray "can come to the ruling side in a different way."
"At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (opposition). Uddhav Ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is absolutely no scope left for us to come there (opposition)," Fadnavis had said.
The BJP and Shiv Sena enjoyed a stable alliance for over 25 years until friction emerged in 2014 over seat-sharing arrangements.
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Undo
Despite contesting the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections together and securing a majority, Uddhav Thackeray broke away post-polls to form a government with the Congress and NCP under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) banner, a move seen as betrayal by the BJP.
However, in 2022, Fadnavis played a central role in engineering a dramatic political coup. With support from Eknath Shinde, who split the Shiv Sena, the MVA government collapsed, and the BJP returned to power in alliance with the Shinde-led Sena faction.
Fadnavis took the deputy chief minister's post, while Shinde assumed the chief ministership. Although the alliance secured a sweeping mandate in the 2024 elections, Shinde, who had been chief minister since the coup, appeared hesitant to relinquish the top post to Fadnavis.
Moreover, speculation over a possible alliance between Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has grown since the two leaders appeared together on July 5, their first joint appearance in 20 years. The show of unity came as they celebrated the state government's rollback of Hindi language mandates in schools.
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