Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his political rival Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray were seen sharing the same flight from Mumbai to Nagpur, sparking speculation in political circles.
Thackeray was accompanied by his son Aditya, a former minister, and party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, on the IndiGo flight to Nagpur. A video clip also spread on social media, showing leaders of the rival party sitting in the same row on both sides of the aisle. News agencies, including PTI, confirmed this development.
While Nagpur is Fadnavis’ hometown, the Thackeray camp was heading to the city to attend the Shiv Sena rally. The Sena UBT leader is on a three-day tour of Vidarbha and Marathwada, touring the constituencies represented by the six rebel MPs, who crossed into Eknath Shinde’s camp last week.
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Responding to questions about his travel, Fadnavis joked that the meeting of the three leaders was “the biggest news of the day”.
“The three of them, Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut and me, were together on the plane, and this is the biggest news,” he told TV9 Marathi.
The BJP and opposition leaders played down any political speculation, terming the meeting a mere coincidence. However, this comes days after six Shiv Sena (UBT) rebels switched sides to join the rival Shinde camp.
How did the parties react?
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Kadam described it as a mere coincidence and downplayed the significance of the meeting, saying the political leaders had personal ties beyond ideological differences.
“If Uddhav Thackeray goes among the people after all is lost, then this is nothing but a gimmick. Has he ever traveled on an IndiGo flight like this in his life, leaving charter planes aside? This is just a gimmick. As for his meeting with the Prime Minister on the plane, it was just a coincidence,” Kadam told ANI.
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He added, “After getting off the plane, exchanging greetings is normal. But reading political motives into this is wrong. He (Uddhav) left his house at a time when there was nothing left.”
The Congress also dismissed any speculation about this development, saying that the two leaders participated in a business trip and there was no “big matter” in it.
“If they were on the same flight, wouldn’t they be talking to each other? Politics is not about hostility. Politics is about pushing each other’s ideologies forward… Was this a government plane? This was a commercial flight. If they were on the same flight, what was the big deal?” Congress leader Hussain Dalwai said.
Not the first meeting
This is not the first case regarding Uddhav Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis. Earlier this year, Devendra Fadnavis denied rumors of a secret meeting with Uddhav Thackeray.
Fadnavis was responding to a media report claiming that Fadnavis and Thackeray met in April at the Prime Minister’s official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai.
There was buzz about a meeting between the two leaders in July last year as well. Political sources claimed that a 20-minute meeting was held between the two leaders in Legislative Council Speaker Ram Shinde’s room last. The meeting was said to be pre-planned, a follow-up to Thackeray’s son Aditya’s meeting with Fadnavis.
