Mumbai, Aug 21 (PTI) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Thursday met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the latter’s official residence ‘Varsha’ in south Mumbai, prompting speculation in the state’s political circles.
The meeting comes after the first joint electoral contest by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s MNS in the BEST Employees’ Co-operative Credit Society elections ended in a humiliating defeat on Wednesday, as the parties’ joint panel failed to win any of the 21 seats in the polls.
Talking to reporters, Thackeray said several cities in the state are witnessing slum redevelopment, leading to a tenfold rise in population density in some areas. As a result, residents are facing parking woes, with vehicles spilling onto city roads and causing traffic jams, he said.
Thackeray said he also made a presentation before Fadnavis during which the Mumbai Police Commissioner and Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) were present.
He stressed the need to construct parking lots under playgrounds that could accommodate 500 to 1,000 vehicles. These underground parking structures will also not impact the open spaces above them, he said.
On a pilot basis, he said, three such parking lots will be built – one in the island city and two in the suburbs. He also underscored the need for colour-coded footpaths for parking and strict laws to rein in traffic offenders.
“Work has to be done on a war footing,” he said.
There have been talks of a possible alliance between the Sena (UBT) and the MNS for the forthcoming local body polls in the state, particularly after the Thackeray cousins shared a political stage last month on the issue of Marathi identity and “imposition” of the Hindi language in the state.
After the drubbing of the MNS-Sena (UBT) panel in the BEST credit society polls, Fadnavis on Wednesday accused the two parties of politicising the elections around the “Thackeray brand”.
“I think there was no need to politicise this kind of election, as it was just a credit society poll. But they politicised it by making tall claims that the Thackeray brand will win. But it seems people did not like it. The poll outcome reflected rejection by the people,” Fadnavis had said.
Asked about the meeting between Thackeray and Fadnavis, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar told reporters in Wardha on Thursday that not much should be read into it.
“Many leaders meet one another as well as with the chief minister, irrespective of whether they are in power or not. Maintaining communication with each other is the tradition of the state. There is no need to give a political angle to this meeting,” he said.
Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who is in Delhi, said Raj Thackeray has not committed a political crime by meeting the CM.
They have met several times in the past, Raut said, adding that Thackeray must have gone to invite Fadnavis for the upcoming Ganesh festival at his residence. PTI PR MR VT NR
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