Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his political rival Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray were spotted sharing the same flight from Mumbai to Nagpur, raising speculations in political circles.
Thackeray was accompanied by his son Aaditya, a former minister, and party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, on an IndiGo flight to Nagpur. A video clip also went viral on social media, showing the rival party leaders seated on the same row on either side of the aisle. The development was confirmed by news agencies, including PTI.
While Nagpur is Fadnavis’ hometown, the Thackeray camp was headed to the city for a Shiv Sena rally. The Sena UBT leader is on a three-day tour of Vidarbha and Marathwada, where he is on a tour of the constituencies represented by the six rebel MPs, who crossed to Eknath Shinde’s camp last week.
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Responding to questions over his travel, Fadnavis quipped that the meeting of the three leaders was the “biggest news of the day.”
“The three of them, Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut and I myself, were together on the flight is the biggest news,” he told TV9 Marathi.
The BJP and opposition leaders have downplayed any political speculations, calling the meet a mere coincidence. However, this comes days after six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) switched sides to join the rival Shinde camp.
How parties reacted
Calling it a mere coincidence, BJP leader Ram Kadam downplayed the meeting saying political leaders have personal relationships apart from ideological differences.
“If Uddhav Thackeray goes among the people after everything has been lost, it is nothing but a gimmick. Has he ever travelled on an IndiGo flight like this in his life, leaving aside chartered planes? This is merely a stunt. As for his meeting with the Chief Minister on the flight, it was just a coincidence,” Kadam told ANI.
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“After embarking from the plane, exchanging greetings is natural. However, reading political motives into this is wrong. He (Uddhav) has stepped out of his home at a time when nothing is left,” he added.
Congress too rubbished any speculations from the development, saying the two leaders shared a commercial flight and there was “no big deal” in it.
“If there were on the same flight, won’t they speak with each other? Politics doesn’t mean enmity. Politics is about taking forward respective ideologies… Was it a government aircraft? This was a commercial flight. If they are on the same flight, what is the big deal?” Congress leader Husain Dalwai said.
Not the first meeting
This is not the first instance regarding Uddhav Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis. Earlier this year, Devendra Fadnavis rubbished rumours of a secret meeting with Uddhav Thackeray.
Fadnavis was reacting to a media report claiming that Fadnavis and Thackeray met in April at the Chief Minister’s official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai.
There were buzz of a meeting between the two leaders in July last year too. Political insiders claimed a 20-minute meeting was held between the two leaders in the chamber of legislative council chairman Ram Shinde last. The meeting was said to be a pre-planned one, a follow-up to Thackeray’s son Aaditya’s meeting with Fadnavis.
