Raj, Uddhav Thackeray have united as they fear ruling alliance: Fadnavis

Mumbai, Jan 4 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have come together ahead of the January 15 Mumbai municipal corporation elections as they fear the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state, led by BJP.

“This is not a preeti sangam, but a bheeti sangam (the cousins have come together not out of love but out of fear),” Fadnavis said, addressing a campaign rally in north Mumbai on Sunday night.

“Somebody told me that a cartoonist (Raj) and a photographer (Uddhav) have united,” Fadnavis said. “I told the person that confusion and corruption have united,” the CM said.

Fadnavis said he had offered a Rs 1,000 reward to anyone who could find Uddhav Thackeray speaking on the topic of development. “Now I have decided to increase that amount to Rs 2,000,” he added.

On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray unveiling their manifesto for the BMC polls earlier on Sunday, Fadnavis said they could have done it a day earlier, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Rajmata Jijabai, mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

“But in recent times, our old friends have started sitting with those allergic to Vande Mataram, so I am not aware what else they are allergic to,” Fadnavis said, without naming Raj or Uddhav.

At the rally, the ruling alliance campaign song 'Mahapalika radate aahe' (municipal corporation is crying), highlighting the alleged misrule when Shiv Sena (UBT) controlled the BMC, was released.

Incidentally, the song has been composed by singer and musician Avadhoot Gupte, who also came out with the “Shiv Sena Shiv Sena” song in 2009, when the party was undivided. Gupte was present at Sunday’s rally.

In a setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT) ahead of the Mumbai civic body elections, former Mayor Shubha Raul on Sunday joined the BJP in the presence of Fadnavis at the rally, after resigning from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.

Voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be held on January 15, along with 28 other civic bodies, in Maharashtra. PTI VT VT