'No One Should Be Naive Enough...': Fadnavis Rejects Raut’s Claim That Many In BJP Want Alliance With Sena UBT
Sanjay Raut had made the remark after Narvekar and Patil had a few jovial exchanges in the presence of UBT chief at the wedding reception of BJP MLA Parag Alavani’s daughter on Wednesday night.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday dismissed claims made by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut that many leaders from the ruling BJP in the state wish for an alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
Fadnavis remarked that casual meetings should not be interpreted politically, responding to a question over Raut's remarks following an interaction between BJP's Chandrakant Patil and Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide Milind Narvekar, news agency PTI reported.
Sanjay Raut had made the remark after Narvekar and Patil had a few jovial exchanges in the presence of UBT chief at the wedding reception of BJP MLA Parag Alavani’s daughter on Wednesday night. Alavani is a three-time MLA from Vile Parle in Mumbai, and according to a BJP functionary, Thackeray shares cordial relations with him.
"It’s good that journalists are not here...otherwise, they would say alliance talks are on," Narvekar joked with Patil, to which he quipped, "It would be a golden moment."
"Patil belongs to the older generation of BJP who understands the significance of Shiv Sena-BJP ties. It worked well for 25 years," said Raut, adding that many in the BJP share Patil’s "golden moment" sentiments, PTI reported.
Rejecting Raut’s claims, the Maharashtra CM told reporters in Delhi, "No one should be naive enough to think that just because people meet at a wedding (reception), an alliance is formed or parties come closer."
Responding to whether leaders in the Sena (UBT) also share the same feeling of an alliance with the BJP, Raut had said, "There might be. We went with the MVA because of some leaders in the BJP. You split our party and gave what we were rightfully demanding to Eknath Shinde."
"Though no such discussions have taken place within the Sena (UBT), some members of the party might also share the same sentiments," he said, adding, "I doubt how long Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena will stay with the BJP. We are in a wait-and-watch mode."
He further said, "We have had such discussions several times earlier. However, there have been no talks in Sena (UBT) yet."
The BJP and Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena were partners for 25 years. However, the parties fell apart after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections over the chief minister post. Thereafter, Thackeray joined hands with Congress and NCP and went on to become the CM under the banner of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In 2022, the MVA government fell after Eknath Shinde led a rebellion in Shiv Sena, which led to its split. He later got the party's name and also its ‘bow and arrow’ symbol.
The wedding reception of BJP leader Alvani's daughter was also attended by leaders from the ruling Mahayuti, and people from the entertainment industry, including filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, Sachin Khedekar, and Shivaji Satam. Former Congressmen Kripashankar Singh and Krishna Hegde, who contested against Alavani from the Vile Parle in the state polls last year, also attended the reception.
In the recently held Assembly elections, the Mahayuti swept the state with 230 of the 288 assembly seats, while the MVA bagged only 46 seats.
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