Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is likely to join forces with the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde-led) alliance in the state ahead of Lok Sabha elections, sources told India Today TV on Monday.
He is on his way to Delhi, where Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule are also present. He is likely to demand two seats — South Mumbai and Shirdi, for his party MNS.
Notably, Raj Thackeray is the estranged cousin of former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, who is in the opposition in Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray is the nephew of Uddhav’s father Bal Thackeray, the late founder of Shiv Sena.
Uddhav Thackeray leads the other faction of the Shiv Sena. However, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar had in January ruled that the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the “real Shiv Sena”.
The Shiv Sena split into two factions after a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde in 2022, following which he became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Currently, the ruling alliance in Maharashtra consists of BJP, NCP and Shinde-led Sena.