Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray at his residence in Dadar on Tuesday. This was Shinde's first visit to 'Shivtirtha,' Thackeray’s residence, since the state assembly elections last year.
Shinde was accompanied by his party colleague and Industries Minister Uday Samant. Thackeray’s son Amit and Mumbai MNS president Sandeep Deshpande were also present during the visit, according to sources.
After the meeting, Shinde described the encounter as a "courtesy visit." However, the meeting gained significance with the upcoming elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body of Mumbai. The BMC elections have been delayed for three years and are expected to be held later this year.
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In his interaction with the media after the meeting, Shinde stated, "There are no immediate elections. The discussions about alliances and Maha-Yuti usually come up when elections are approaching. But there was no such discussion today. This was purely a courtesy visit. We reminisced about Balasaheb’s memories, and that’s why it took so long."
In recent months, MNS has been intensifying its campaign demanding that Marathi be used across the state.
During the 2024 assembly elections, the Mahim constituency saw a triangular contest between Sada Sarvankar from Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Amit Thackeray, who made his electoral debut, and Mahesh Sawant from Shiv Sena (UBT). Sawant won the seat in the contest.