Mumbai, Apr 19 (PTI) MNS leader Raj Thackeray has sparked speculation about a potential political rapprochement with his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, noting their past differences are “trivial” and uniting for the greater good of “Marathi manoos” is not a difficult task.

The buzz strengthened when Uddhav on Saturday said he is ready to put aside trivial fights provided that those working against Maharashtra’s interests will not be entertained, a veiled reference to Raj hosting Shiv Sena head and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde at his residence.

In an interview with actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar’s podcast, released on Saturday, Raj said he had no issues working with Uddhav when they were in the undivided Shiv Sena. Raj said the question is, does Uddhav want to work with him? “For a bigger cause, our fights and issues are trivial. Maharashtra is very big. For Maharashtra, the existence of Marathi manoos, these fights are very trivial. I don’t think it is a difficult task to come together and stay united. But the issue is of desire.

“It is not the question of my desire or selfishness. We need to look at the larger picture. All Maharashtrians should form one party,” Raj said when asked whether the two estranged cousins could come together politically.

Raj, for his part, stressed that ego should not be brought to dictate such small issues.

Responding to Raj, Uddhav told Shiv Sena (UBT) workers, “I am also ready to put aside trivial issues and I appeal to everyone to come together for the sake of Marathi manoos.” Without taking the name of his cousin, Uddhav said had the MNS president opposed Maharashtra’s investments and businesses moving to Gujarat, then a government that takes care of the interests of the state would have been formed in Delhi and Maharashtra.

“It cannot happen that (you) support (the BJP during Lok Sabha polls), then oppose (during the state assembly polls) and again compromise. This cannot happen.

“First decide that whoever works against the interests of Maharashtra will not be welcomed at home, you will not go to their homes and break bread. Then talk about the interests of Maharashtra,” Uddhav said.

Uddhav said he was ready to set aside minor disagreements.

“I am saying I don’t have fights with anyone, and if any, I am resolving them. But decide on this (the interest of Maharashtra) first. But then all Marathi people should decide whether they will go with the BJP or with me,” Uddhav added.

Notably, Uddhav’s assertion comes at a time when Shiv Sena (UBT) has opposed the “imposition” of Hindi in Maharashtra after the state government gave its nod to the three-language formula under NEP.

Raj, nephew of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, resigned from his uncle’s party in January 2006 and later formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena by picking the son-of-the-soil agenda aggressively.

He had launched several pointed attacks on Uddhav Thackeray who he had blamed for his exit from Shiv Sena.

After winning 13 seats in the 2009 assembly elections, MNS gradually declined and was pushed to political margins in Maharashtra. The party currently has no representation in the legislative assembly due to eroding voter base.

In the recent assembly polls, the Shiv Sena (UBT) was reduced to 20 seats, while the Raj Thackeray-led party drew a blank with even Raj’s son Amit losing his maiden poll contest.

The rapprochement buzz comes ahead of civic polls in Mumbai amid the realisation that Shiv Sena (UBT) will have to fight the Sena led by Shinde and BJP to protect its citadel of Mumbai.

Meanwhile, responding to the speculation that the warring cousins may bury their hatchets, state Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Saturday said if two families are coming together, there is no reason to object.

“When Raj Thackeray says that his issues with Uddhav Thackeray are not bigger than Maharashtra, he must be hitting that BJP is causing loss to Maharashtra. He must be hinting that investment is going out of Maharashtra. The other meaning of his statement is that BJP and Mahayuti are trying to cause harm to the basic foundation of the state,” he told reporters in Pune.

Sapkal underlined Maharashtra’s tradition of inclusive governance based on the ideologies of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule, and B R Ambedkar.

“The BJP is trying to break the language and culture of Maharashtra, and Raj Thackeray’s recent stand seems to endorse this view,” he added.

Using the ‘Bharat Jodo’ analogy, he said, “If two families are coming together, there is no reason to object. If bonds are being formed, it should be welcomed”. PTI PR SPK NSK