In what has set the cat among the pigeons before the Kalyan-Dombivli civic polls, which are due soon, and BMC elections to be held in early 2017, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has put out photos of its party chief with estranged cousin and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.
These photos created a buzz over the possible rapprochement between the two brothers soon after they were uploaded on Twitter and Facebook by the MNS official account.
Three of these photos, which have been ostensibly shared to satiate "curiosity" of how the Thackeray cousins looked like in their younger days, have Raj, Uddav and the latter's elder brother Jaideo. In one photo, the trio can be seen on a beach, while another has a teenage Raj holding a gun, standing next to Jaideo. One photo has the cousins posing into the camera. A fourth photograph from the wedding of Raj's parents Shrikant and Kundatai, in which Jaideo can be seen, has also been uploaded.
However, Sena sources dismissed these photos as an attempt by the MNS to create a buzz with an eye on the impending Kalyan-Dombivli civic polls, especially after its electoral washout in the 2014 assembly elections, where its numbers in the legislature fell to just one from 13 in 2009.
The MNS, which saw a significant loss of face in the Lok Sabha elections, witnessed a worse mauling in the assembly polls, where the Marathi manoos deserted it for the Sena in the aftermath of its split with the BJP — Maharashtrians gravitated to the Sena, the BJP walked off with non-Maharashtrian and upper caste votes, and the MNS lost its electoral base.
"There is no need for us to make up with the MNS, on the contrary, we will benefit from them losing electoral support," said a Sena source, claiming that this would get the MNS some much-needed publicity.
"It is for the MNS to decide what they want to upload on their social media accounts… we do not take this seriously," said Arvind Bhosale, Sena spokesperson, adding that the party was "taking firm steps on its own strength".
MNS leaders refused to answer phone calls.
