What's Cooking? Uddhav Thackeray Meets Devendra Fadnavis

Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently met at the Maharashtra assembly, marking their first face-to-face interaction in months. The meeting, which lasted 20 minutes, took place in Vidhan Bhavan's ante-chamber of Vidhan Parishad Chairman Ram Shinde. Although the official agenda was to discuss the Leader of the Opposition post, it drew attention due to Mr Fadnavis's recent comment inviting Mr Thackeray to join the ruling alliance.

Opposition Leadership Discussions

Sources revealed that Mr Thackeray requested Speaker Rahul Narvekar to approve Bhaskar Jadhav for the Leader of Opposition role. This recommendation had been made during the last session by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi. However, no decision has been made yet by the Speaker. The Chief Minister reportedly stated that appointing a Leader of Opposition is solely within the Speaker's jurisdiction.

During this assembly session, which is only the second since the Mahayuti government's formation, Aaditya Thackeray also attended. The three-language policy was another topic of discussion. Mr Thackeray presented a book titled "Why Hindi should not be imposed" to Mr Fadnavis. This book compiles articles from various Maharashtra editors. While accepting it, Mr Fadnavis suggested submitting a copy to Narendra Jadhav, who leads a committee reviewing the language policy.

Political Dynamics and Speculations

The meeting followed a light-hearted invitation from Mr Fadnavis for Mr Thackeray to join their alliance. This remark was made during Ambadas Danve's farewell ceremony in the state assembly. Addressing Mr Thackeray directly, Mr Fadnavis said: "Look Uddhav-ji, there is no scope of (our) going there (in the opposition) till 2029... But if you want to come over here, then consider it... it depends on you... it can be considered."

Mr Thackeray's faction has consistently dismissed any notion of reuniting with BJP as mere jest. Following this latest comment from Mr Fadnavis, Mr Thackeray reiterated that such remarks should be taken humorously and not seriously.