Maharashtra BJP chief meets Raj Thackeray

No talk of a tie-up: Chandrakant Patil

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Chandrakant Patil on Friday held a meeting with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, giving rise to speculation about a possible tie-up as elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are due next year. Mr. Patil said after the meeting that though they discussed politics, there was no talk of an alliance between them. The BJP leader, however, said the two “Hindus” would soon meet. Mr. Patil said, “As an individual, I have told him that the people of Maharashtra want to see him as their leader. The infrastructure available with the MNS may delay that from happening for some time. Therefore, he needs to join hands with someone with bigger resources. But there was no discussion on this.”