Lok Sabha: Raj Thackeray meets Amit Shah in Delhi as BJP looks to seal alliance with MNS

MNS chief Raj Thackeray meets with BJP's Amit Shah amid speculation of alliance in Maharashtra and NDA.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday met with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Home Amit Shah in Delhi amid intense anticipation that the MNS would join the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ coalition in Maharashtra and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Central level.

While the buzz of the MNS forging an alliance with the BJP is hardly new, Mr. Thackeray’s arrival in the capital on Monday night, and his subsequent meetings with the BJP brass – first with national general secretary Vinod Tawde in a plush Delhi hotel, and later with Mr. Shah – strongly hinted that a pre-Lok Sabha deal between the two parties could be finally sealed.

The MNS president, who had a half-hour meeting with Mr. Shah, was accompanied by his son, MNS leader Amit Thackeray and Mr. Tawde.

According to sources, the meeting with Mr. Shah was effected by the mediation of Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who reportedly met with Mr. Thackeray at least thrice in the past few days before his Delhi visit.

Sources also said the MNS was interested in the Mumbai South and the Nashik Lok Sabha seats.

While the MNS’ Marathi-speaking vote-base in Mumbai South could help the BJP in combating incumbent Arvind Sawant, the incumbent MP from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Mr. Thackeray’s party still retains a core base in Nashik, where it had notched impressive gains in past civic body elections.

Following his return to Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray held a meeting of his MNS party leaders including Bala Nandgaonkar and Avinash Abhyankar.