Not Invited For Modi Swearing-In Ceremony, Raj Thackeray Upset

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has started mending fences immediately after the formation of the Union cabinet. His confidant Naresh Mhaske, the new Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP, has called on MNS leader Raj Thackeray ‘to thank and seek his blessings’ for the public meeting held by the latter in Thane in support of Shinde’s son Shrikant and Mhaske. The MNS is unhappy with the BJP bigwigs for not inviting Raj for the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi cabinet on 9 June. Senior BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s explanation that this may have happened due to some oversight on the part of the officials preparing the list has not gone down well.  Though thousands of invitees attended, how come the MNS chief was forgotten, his rank and file have started asking. Raj will express his feelings about this lapse at the party rally to be held in Mumbai on June 12. The CM’s close associate, health minister Tanaji Sawant, visited Raj’s Shivaji Park residence to assuage his feelings. Raj’s open support came handy for BJP’s Narayan Rane in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and for Mhaske in Thane. In fact, Shinde had made it a prestige issue to claim the Thane seat despite the BJP’s stiff resistance. Mhaske’s and Shrikant victory has augmented the Sena (Shinde) presence in the district.