Mixed signals to BJP: Out on bail, Raut showers Dy CM with praise

Raut, who was released on bail on Wednesday in a money-laundering case, has also welcomed Fadnavis’s statement that the bitterness in Maharashtra’s political ecosystem needs to be reduced

Mumbai: In what is interpreted as a gesture to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amid the growing animosity, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has called deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis an “experienced leader” and said he will meet him soon.

Mumbai, India - November 10, 2022: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and MP Sanjay Raut welcomed Rashmi Thackeray and party chief Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree, Bandra, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, November 10, 2022. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Raut, who was released on bail on Wednesday in a money-laundering case, has also welcomed Fadnavis’s statement that the bitterness in Maharashtra’s political ecosystem needs to be reduced.

A senior Sena leader said Raut was trying to send across a message that it was Fadnavis and not Eknath Shinde, who was calling the shots in the government. Moreover, the party may be trying to find a common cause with Fadnavis against Shinde on the “enemy’s enemy is our friend” principle and exploit the gradually-widening fissures between the BJP and Shinde’s Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.

In the Dussehra rally last month, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had attacked Shinde while going soft on Fadnavis and the BJP, the leader pointed out. “Raut’s statements and behaviour over the coming days will make it evident whether he is trying to build bridges with Fadnavis and the BJP.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Raut said he would meet Fadnavis soon. “It is my observation that Fadnavis ji is leading the state even today. He is an experienced leader and is announcing many important decisions,” he said, adding constitutional authorities like the prime minister and chief minister are above party politics. “I will go to Delhi and meet the PM and Amit Shah sahab. He is the home minister. I will tell him what happened to me.”

Raut also visited Matoshree, the Thackeray family residence at Bandra East. Flanked by Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray, Raut said he wanted to meet Fadnavis, who also held the home portfolio, to discuss the issues of prison inmates and the jail staff as he had seen this first-hand. “Is it wrong if I present this before him as an elected representative? After all, he heads the state.”

Raut, who was in the Arthur Road jail for over 100 days, referred to himself as a “war prisoner” and said he was “willing to go to jail for 10 (more) times” for the Shiv Sena. “There is only one Shiv Sena in Maharashtra... that which is led by Uddhav Thackeray.”

Uddhav said Raut was upfront in his speech. “If he wanted to join them [BJP] and call a truce, he would not have spent 100 days in jail.” He referred to the central investigating agencies as the “domesticated animals” of the union government and charged it with misusing the agencies to break political parties and making illegal arrests in “false cases”.