MUMBAI — A day after the late-night rendezvous between Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders sought to allay fears of any ‘rift’ in the three-party Opposition alliance, here on Wednesday.
Thackeray, along with party MP Sanjay Raut, had rushed to meet Pawar after his remarks to a private TV channel that sparked off huge speculation of fissures in the MVA and its possible repercussions.
Among other things, Pawar had claimed to the TV channel that Thackeray did not consult the MVA allies before quitting as the Chief Minister in June 2022, that set political tongues wagging.
The 75-minute meeting was held in bonhomie and a day later today (April 12), Pawar and Raut said that the MVA will continue to work with renewed vigour for future political challenges.
Raut said that they had detailed discussions on the political developments in the state and the nation, the future implications, among others, and reiterated that there are “no differences in the MVA”.
State Congress President Nana Patole also expressed similar views and said that if the MVA alliance leaders meet other “then what is wrong” and said there was no need for making any wild speculations in the matter.
Meanwhile, AICC General Secretary K. C. Venugopal Rao is likely to visit Maharashtra and meet Thackeray and Pawar in the wake of the recent developments that signalled major cracks in the MVA, which seem to have been sorted out by the Pawar-Thackeray late-night meeting.
The MVA was perturbed by Pawar’s comments last week questioning the need for a Joint Parliamentary Probe into the Adani Group scam, but on Tuesday, he apparently softened his stance and said he would not oppose the JPC if other Opposition parties wanted it.
Later, Pawar and his nephew Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic qualifications, the reliability of EVMs, among others, also became the topic of discussion among the three allies. — IANS
