MUMBAI: Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sign MP Sanjay raut they met here on Saturday, sparking speculation in political circles, while the BJP denied that their discussion had any political aspect.
Raut, whose strident anti-BJP stance on the power-sharing formula after last year’s state Assembly elections was daily food for television stations, met Fadnavis at a luxury hotel in the western suburbs.
Maharashtra BJP chief spokesman Keshav Upadhye said there was no political angle at the meeting.
“Raut wanted to interview Fadnavis for (the Sena spokesman) Saamana and this meeting was to discuss how to do it,” he tweeted.
“Fadnavis informed Raut that he would grant the interview after returning from the Bihar election campaign, “Upadhye said.
He said there are “no political overtones” in the meeting between Fadnavis, now the opposition leader in the Assembly, and Raut, who is Saamana’s editorial pillar.
Raut said: “Is it a crime to meet Fadnavis, who is a former prime minister and now leader of the opposition in the state Assembly?
“When I interviewed Sharad Pawar, he had announced that he had scheduled interviews with Fadnavis, Rahul Gandhi and Amit shah“Raut told PTI, adding that meeting with leaders of other parties is not a crime in politics.
Shiv Sena and BJP, who contested the 2019 State Assembly elections as allies, fought over the power-sharing formula, and the party led by Uddhav Thackeray said it was not ready to accept “less than agreed” with the BJP.
The Sena formed a government in November of last year with the NCP and Congress as the new partners of the alliance.
The two-hour meeting between Fadnavis and Raut was the first between the leaders of both parties after the bitter post-election breakup last year.
The opposition leader in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar said that Fadnavis and Raut met to discuss the interview.
“Raut had requested the appointment of Fadnavis for an interview for Saamana. Fadnavis wanted the interview to be published unedited and the two met to discuss the framework,” he said.
Raut has interviewed the head of the CPN, Sharad Pawar, for Saamana, as well as Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray.
Darekar also told a television channel that “anything can happen in politics,” while Union Minister Raosaheb Danve said such meetings were also expected in the future.
Former BJP state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that the BJP and the Seine have become estranged and that politics should not be seen at Saturday’s meeting.
Danve said: “The BJP is currently playing an important role as an opposition in the state. We are not trying to break any party in the state to form a government in Maharashtra.”
Mungantiwar said: “Any such decision on the formation of a government has not been discussed in the state central committee, therefore the possibility of joining Shiv Sena to form a government in Maharashtra is out of the question.”
He referred to Fadnavis forming a government by joining hands with the PNC leader. Ajit pawar in November last year, where the BJP leader had to resign in three days as Ajit Pawar was unable to obtain the required number of MLAs.
“The BJP workers strongly opposed that attempt and have argued that party leaders must be taken in confidence from now on before any such political move,” Mungantiwar said.
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