Talks between Shah and Raj Thackeray positive; picture will be clear in few days: Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the talks between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and MNS chief Raj Thackeray were positive, and the picture would be clear in the next few days.

Thackeray met Shah in Delhi on Tuesday, in an indication that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to ally with him for the Lok Sabha polls to boost its alliance in the western state.

Responding to questions related to the meeting between the two leaders, Fadnavis said, "Raj Thackeray met Amit Shah in Delhi. It would be premature to comment on it immediately. The picture will be clear in the next few days, and we will brief you in detail." Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Bala Nandgaonkar has said the party will contest the Lok Sabha elections on the instructions of Raj Thackeray. "We are waiting for his return to Mumbai," he said.

Raj Thackeray had parted ways with the Shiv Sena when it was undivided and led by his cousin, and founded MNS in 2006.

If the alliance is sealed, the MNS is likely be given one seat to contest from Mumbai.

On the seat-sharing formula of the ruling Mahayuti (grand alliance) for the key Lok Sabha seats like Baramati (Pune district) and Madha (Solapur district), Fadnavis said, "Be it Baramati or Madha, everyone aims to win the seats and make Narendra Modi the prime minister again." The name of Sunetra Pawar, wife of state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also heads the NCP, is expected to be finalised against incumbent Supriya Sule belonging to the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). However, some local leaders from the BJP allies have expressed their opposition to Pawar's candidature.

Former minister and BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil from Indapur tehsil in Pune district also made it clear that leaders from the ruling allies should not make any personal remarks. He also met Fadnavis and other BJP leaders in Mumbai on Wednesday.

"I met BJP leaders and shared the views of my supporters. We had a detailed discussion. We will wait for the party's response to our feedback," he told reporters here.

For decades, there has been a political rivalry between the Patil family from Indapur and the Pawar family of Baramati. However, after a split in the NCP, a significant chunk of MLAs swore allegiance to Ajit Pawar. Patil contested the Indapur assembly seat in 2014 and 2019, but failed to win against NCP's Datta Bharane, who is part of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.