Uddhav, Raj expected to share stage at Bal Thackeray’s birth anniversary event

The estranged cousins earlier attended a virtual all-party meeting called to discuss the Covid-19 situation in May

Maharashtra chief Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin, Raj Thackeray, are expected to share the stage on Saturday at the inauguration of Bal Thackeray’s statue in Mumbai on the occasion of Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena founder’s 95th birth anniversary, people aware of the matter said.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, MNS chief Raj Thackeray. (HT archive)

The cousins earlier attended a virtual all-party meeting called to discuss the Covid-19 situation in May.

Uddhav Thackeray will unveil the nine-feet-tall statue bronze statue on an 11-feet pedestal. Residents have opposed the installation citing a 2013 Supreme Court order that said statues cannot be installed on roads.

The statue installed by the Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will be the first in Mumbai, where Bal Thackeray established the party.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis have also been invited for the unveiling event.

Raj Thackeray was seen as his political heir, but Bal Thackeray chose his son, Uddhav Thackeray, to lead the party in 2003, leading to a split in the Shiv Sena. He launched Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in March 2005.