Congress leader Chennithala meets Thackeray to ease tensions

All India Congress Committee general secretary Ramesh Chennithala visited Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence

Mumbai: All India Congress Committee general secretary Ramesh Chennithala visited Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence, Matoshri, on Saturday morning. The meeting came amidst strained talks between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress on seat sharing, with Shiv Sena (UBT) demanding more seats, a proposal the Congress had disagreed with.

AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala. (ANI)

On Friday evening, Thackeray had cautioned against pushing alliances to breaking point, refusing further dialogue with state Congress chief Nana Patole. Sources indicated that the Congress high command dispatched Chennithala, who oversees party affairs in Maharashtra, to ease tensions.

Speaking to the media outside Matoshri, Chennithala stated, "I came to inquire about Thackeray's health, as he underwent angiography earlier this week." He added, "Thackeray's health and the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi's health are both satisfactory."

Chennithala announced that further discussions would resume on Saturday afternoon, involving Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT), Patole, and Jayant Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction).