Uddhav visits Raj's home in Mumbai on Ganesh Chaturthi; Fadnavis also drops in later

Mumbai, Aug 27 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday visited the home of his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, in another sign of growing bonhomie between them.

Later, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a BJP leader and political rival of Uddhav Thackeray, separately visited Raj's residence to offer prayers to Lord Ganesh.

The MNS leader hosts Lord Ganesh at his residence, 'Shivtirth', located in the city's Dadar area, every year.

Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray and his mother Rashmi accompanied Uddhav during the visit, which comes nearly two months after the long estranged cousins shared a stage in Mumbai after several years.

Uddhav's visit to Raj Thackeray's home, though on the occasion of Maharashtra's most popular festival, sent yet another clear signal of rapprochement between the Sena (UBT) and MNS ahead of polls to local bodies, including the cash-rich Mumbai civic corporation.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) later posted on social media site X, the photos of the extended Thackeray family coming together on Ganesh Chaturthi.

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray are paternal as well as maternal cousins --- their mothers were sisters.

One of the striking photographs was Raj and Uddhav Thackeray posing behind a portrait of their grandfather Keshav, and their father Shrikant and Bal Thackeray, respectively.

The photo sought to send a message that the Thackerays were together despite the two cousins charting their own political course since two decades now.

This was at least the third publicly known interaction between the once estranged cousins.

The two had shared a stage on July 5 in Mumbai to celebrate their "victory" after the Maharashtra government rolled back its contentious orders on three-language formula for students of Classes 1 to 5 amid charges of imposition of Hindi in the state dominated by Marathi speakers.

In July-end, Raj visited 'Matoshree', the residence of Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra, to wish the latter on his birthday.

Although Raj quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, blaming Uddhav Thackeray for his exit, the drubbing of their parties in the 2024 assembly polls seems to have forced the rivals cousins to join hands for political survival.

Both the parties have dropped enough hints of forging an alliance for the local body polls, but they have not yet announced a formal tie-up.

On the other hand, if the alliance between the Thackeray cousins take place, its main adversary will be the BJP.

Both Raj Thackeray, who has supported the BJP in the past, and Fadnavis share a good rapport.

The MNS president had also visited Fadnavis last week and had claimed the meeting was to discuss traffic issues plaguing the rapidly growing cities in the state.

After quitting the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, Raj Thackeray formed the MNS in 2006, but the party has been largely a marginal player in Maharashtra politics.

On the other hand, Uddhav Thackeray has been heading the Shiv Sena, which suffered a split in June 2022, since 2013 after becoming its president.

Uddhav Thackeray reached the pinnacle of his political career in November 2019 when he came chief minister with support from the Congress and undivided NCP. PTI PR NR RSY