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During his speech at the Maharashtra legislative council, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis chose to directly address former ally Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis (L) made a surprising statement about Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray during his speech at the Maharashtra assembly. (Image: PTI/File)
Two days after Uddhav Thackeray shared a light moment about how the two Shiv Senas should come together, it was time for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to make a quip or two.
A few surprising remarks here and there during the ongoing monsoon session, and Fadnavis sparked speculation about future political machinations that may or may not concern Thackeray. During his speech on the occasion of Uddhav’s farewell from the Vidhan Parishad on Wednesday, he chose to directly address his former ally.
#WATCH | In the Maharashtra Assembly, CM Devendra Fadnavis says, “At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (opposition). Uddhav Ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is… pic.twitter.com/jMlounhLpL— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2025
“(Uddhav ji) you can be considered for inclusion here (in the ruling party),” Fadnavis said, while appearing to laugh and share a joke. “At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (opposition). Uddhav ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is absolutely no scope left for us to come there (opposition).”
Later, however, Uddhav said the remarks made by Fadnavis were “in jest” and nothing to read into. “His remarks were made in jest, let it remain so,” he told reporters.
Fadnavis’ pointed remarks stood out against the backdrop of a possible tie-up between Uddhav’s Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the civic body elections in Mumbai.
The MNS, which has supported the BJP in past elections, is yet to make its intentions clear. On July 5, the two Thackeray cousins shared the political stage after two decades to celebrate the BJP-led Maharashtra government’s rollback of two controversial orders that had introduced Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools.
In April, Raj Thackeray sparked speculation about a potential political rapprochement with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, noting their past differences were “trivial” and uniting for the greater good of “Marathi manoos” (Marathi people) is not a difficult task. The buzz strengthened when Uddhav said he was ready to put aside trivial fights provided that those working against Maharashtra’s interests will not be entertained.
This was a veiled reference to Raj hosting Shiv Sena head and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde at his residence. Amid all the confusion over alliance loyalties, the MNS chief had also met Fadnavis at a hotel last month.
(With PTI inputs)
Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st…Read More
Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st… Read More
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