BMC Elections 2022: In the midst of the accusations, Pawar and Thackeray devise a strategy to take on the BJP and MNS

The NCP chief Sharad Pawar met with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his official Varsha residence on Friday amid BJP and MNS demands the removal of loudspeakers from mosques, their move to target the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government on the politically sensitive Hindutva issue, and the arrest of Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana in connection with the Hanuman Chalisa row. They discussed tactics to counter the BJP and MNS during the one-and-a-half-hour meeting.

 

"Apart from the current political circumstances, Pawar has discussed with Thackeray the BJP's aim to rake up Hindutva and communal issues in try to destabilise the MVA government," according to reliable sources. Apart from that, the loudspeaker politics used by the BJP and MNS to separate Hindus and Muslims were also discussed. On the auto fuel pricing problem, the BJP's attempt to put MVA in the wrong box was also debated extensively." Both Pawar and Thackeray have chosen to respond to the BJP's attack collectively.

 

The meeting took place on the same day as the BJP had a Booster Rally in Mumbai, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis speaking, and MNS head Raj Thackeray speaking in Aurangabad. Shiv Sena president and CM Uddhav Thackeray, on the other hand, will address a gathering in BKC on May 14 to inaugurate the Shiv Sampark Abhiyan.

 

Both Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray have been launching salvos against the Shiv Sena in particular, as well as the Maha Vikas Aghadi, in the run-up to the BMC polls. Raj Thackeray has stood firm in his demand that loudspeakers be removed from mosques by May 3 or his party will perform the Hanuman Chalisa. In terms of the BJP, it has stated that the Hanuman Chalisa is not on the party's agenda, but it has also stated that the party will expose Shiv Sena's decision to abandon Hindutva in favour of secularism in order to maintain power with new allies NCP and Congress. In light of this, Pawar and Thackeray have both slammed the BJP and the MNS for polarising politics in the state and urged the people not to fall prey to their tactics.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @fpjindia