Raj Thackeray gets into Hindutva mode, meets Hindu seers from UP

In the backdrop of the municipal elections scheduled next year, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has gotten into Hindutva mode. On Monday, Hindu seers from Uttar Pradesh met MNS chief Raj Thackeray at his residence seeking his support for establishing a Hindu nation.

In the backdrop of the municipal elections scheduled next year, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has gotten into Hindutva mode. On Monday, Hindu seers from Uttar Pradesh met MNS chief Raj Thackeray at his residence seeking his support for establishing a Hindu nation.

The two seers from Uttar Pradesh who go by the name of Guru Ma Kanchan Giriji and Jagatguru Suryacharaji met Raj Thackeray for an hour after criticising Chief Minister and his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray for abandoning Hindutva. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

The two seers from Uttar Pradesh who go by the name of Guru Ma Kanchan Giriji and Jagatguru Suryacharaji met Raj Thackeray for an hour after criticising Chief Minister and his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray for abandoning Hindutva. “Raj Thackeray supports Hindutva ideology and the best thing about him is he does what he says,” said Guru Ma Kanchan Giriji. “Since both BJP and Raj Thackeray’s ideology are similar on Hindutva, they should come together,” she added.

She even went to the extent saying that she was ready to be a bridge to bring them together. She said that Raj Thackeray would be visiting Ayodhya in December and the saints will welcome him in a grand manner. With regards to the opposition of Raj Thackeray towards North Indians, she insisted that Raj Thackeray loved them and they had no reason to fear him.

After a series of defeats in successive elections, Raj Thackeray in January 2020 reinvented his party by shifting towards Hindutva. He unveiled a new saffron flag with a rajmudra (seal) of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, with the party’s name below it. Last week, during Dussehra, the MNS put ‘Proud to be Hindu’ banners in many places across the city.

MNS leader Bal Nandgaonkar said Raj Thackeray has inherited Hindutva ideology from his ancestors. “The MNS will continue to pursue our Hindutva agenda,” said Nandgaonkar.

Political analyst Hemant Desai said it was the BJP’s plan to project ‘Raj Thackeray as a Hindutva icon’ in view of the upcoming BMC polls. “As Uddhav Thackeray is again talking of Hindutva, the BJP wants someone to counter him,” said Desai.

After the breakup of the alliance by the Shiv Sena after the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP has been keen to have an alliance with the MNS to split the Sena’s votes. However, Raj Thackeray’s anti-North Indian agenda has played a spoilsport. BJP Maharashtra Chief Chandrakant Patil who met Raj Thackeray in August told him to shed this agenda.