Sharad Pawar met Uddhav Thackeray one day after Sanjay Raut and Devendra Fadnavis met (Archive)
Mumbai:
The head of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar, met with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, a day after the leader of Shiv Sena, Sanjay Raut, met with the leader of the BJP and former Prime Minister Devendra Fadnavis, which sparked great speculation and theories.
The head of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) met with Thackeray, who is from the alliance partner Shiv Sena, the other is Congress, for 40 minutes at the House of the Chief Minister, but everything they have discussed is unknown, reported the PTI news agency citing. anonymous sources.
The two leaders may have discussed plans to further ease coronavirus safety guidelines as part of the “unlocking” process that occurs in phases, PTI reported. Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India.
However, the meeting of the two top Maharashtra leaders within 24 hours after Sanjay Raut and Devendra Fadnavis had a talk at a luxury hotel in Mumbai came as a surprise at a time when the leaders of Shiv Sena and the BJP were they have bitterly clashed in public over a number of issues, the latest being the case of Sushant Singh Rajput and the demolition of actor Kangana Ranaut’s office.
Sanjay Raut, confirming the meeting, said it was for an interview with Shiv Sena’s spokesperson “Saamana” – which he is in charge of – and that Uddhav Thackeray was aware of it.
“Devendra Fadnavis is not our enemy. We have worked with him. I met Fadnavis for his interview for Saamna. This was a predetermined meeting. Even Uddhav Thackeray was aware of this,” Raut told reporters.
“Is it a crime to meet Fadnavis, who was a former prime minister and now leader of the opposition in the state Assembly? We have ideological differences but we are not enemies,” he added.
Raut said he had interviewed the PNC leader, Sharad Pawar, and had also announced interviews with Devendra Fadnavis, Congressional Leader Rahul Gandhi and Interior Minister Amit Shah.
Shiv Sena and BJP had contested the Maharashtra elections as allies, but they fought over how to form a government together, with Shiv Sena insisting on better participation in the ministries. The Sena eventually severed ties with the BJP and formed a government with its rivals NCP and Congress.
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