Thackeray brothers unite! 'Uddhav and Raj to contest civic elections together,' says Sanjay Raut

NEW DELHI: Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are set to contest civic elections together in at least four Maharashtra districts, Sanjay Raut said on Friday. He further informed that the discussions to form an alliance with MNS were under way.

"The Thackeray brothers (Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray ) will contest the municipal corporation elections in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Kalyan-Dombivali together and win," PTI quoted Raut saying.

"The strength of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray is the strength of the unity of the Marathi-speakers. No power cannot break the iron fist of `Marathi manus' now," he added.

However, Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan accused the Sena (UBT) of remembering Marathi-speakers only during election season, adding that last year’s assembly results showed Marathi voters largely backed the BJP and were not swayed by attempts to mislead them.

Moreover, the state BJP legislator Pravin Darekar wondered whether it was true or just Raut's "guesswork".

"We have not seen so much helplessness in Uddhav Thackeray, who did not remember his own cousin, MNS chief Raj Thackeray for the last 20 years," he said.