MNS supremo Raj Thackrey had a meeting with Chandrakant Patil, the Maharashtra BJP Chief today in Mumbai. The gathering was held at Raj Thackeray’s home in this city. At today’s meeting, senior MNS leaders were also present.
The two leaders’ meeting has sparked speculation about a possible MNS-BJP coalition in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. Elections to the country’s wealthiest business are expected to take place in February of the following year. The Shiv Sena-led BMC’s current term will conclude on March 7 of next year. The Shiv Sena and the BJP jointly won 179 of the 227 seats in the 2017 BMC elections.
However, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrakant Patil today dismissed the prospect of a BJP-MNS partnership. Raj Thackeray, he noted, thinks that local citizens should be given precedence when it comes to employment creation in the state.
Since 1985, the Shiv Sena has controlled the BMC. After losing control in the state to the Shiv Sena, Patil declared in 2019 that the BJP would retake Mumbai from the Shiv Sena. He also stated that the state BJP and the party’s national leadership had begun planning for the BMC elections in 2022.
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On July 18, Patil met Raj Thackeray for the first time. On the other hand, former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has previously dismissed the prospect of allying with MNS. The BJP and Shiv Sena had shared power in the state until the latter broke away from the alliance and joined forces with the NCP and Congress following the 2019 Assembly elections. In the state, the BJP is the main opposition party.
Although Raj’s philosophy is not acceptable to the party, Patil stated earlier on Thursday that “it is necessary to meet each other. Thus, I shall see him. There is no possibility of a coalition between BJP and MNS. The views of MNS does not align with the views of ours. Regardless of differences of view, meeting each other is vital. Therefore, I will meet him,” he told reporters yesterday.
