Brand “Thackeray”, currently flavours Maharashtra politics over possible rapprochement between cousins Uddhav and Raj appears headed nowhere even as internal party conflicts within BJP leaders on the wrong side of CM Devendra Fadnavis use pretext to settle scores with him. UBT Chief Uddhav Thackeray will announce what Maharashtra wants to hear (UBT Sena and MNS coming together or not) though no formal proposal has emanated thus far, apart from MP Sanjay Raut’s daily proclamations. Factions within BJP inimical to Fadnavis, termed as the ‘Raj Thackeray fan club’ by BJP insiders who insist MNS chief’s political flip-flops render the “Thackerays” coming together talks a non-starter. National BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, former MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ashish Shelar blame Fadnavis for their respective political downfalls in Maharashtra, are ratcheting up political foreplay to settle scores with Fadnavis as the climax. Tawde eschewed his Borivali MLA constituency to Sunil Mane (2019) who followed suit in favour of Upadhyay (2024) considered to be Tawde’s man. Tawde idolises Raj Thackeray, took MNS Chief to meet Home Minister Amit Shah a few months ago, even hosted Thackeray scion in Delhi hotel. Fadnavis backers in turn include Shiv Sena chief/DCM Eknath Shinde, his top lieutenant/industries minister Uday Samant who also held political parleys with Raj. BJP itself currently weighs options to appoint Mumbai Pradesh President as contenders in fray include MLAs Sanjay Upadhyay, Yogesh Sagar, Sunil Mane. Mane is frontrunner, sacrificed MLA constituency to favour Upadhyay, particularly, since he is the ‘Marathi Manoos’ imminently set to become Vice Chancellor of Atharva (deemed) University that he administers as an educationist whose institute of learning is renowned for having its own robot to boot.
