Uddhav Thackeray calls Sonia Gandhi, thanks her for support
Mumbai After Congress officially extended support to Shiv Sena for Andheri East by-poll, the party chief Uddhav Thackeray appreciated the gesture by reaching out to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on phone, the Congress insiders said
Mumbai After Congress officially extended support to Shiv Sena for Andheri East by-poll, the party chief Uddhav Thackeray appreciated the gesture by reaching out to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on phone, the Congress insiders said. Thackeray thanked her for the support declared by the grand old party for the by-poll, which has gained greater significance in the backdrop of ongoing political fight in the Shiv Sena.
However, there was confirmation of the development from Shiv Sena.
Thackeray chose to respond to the support when Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and Mumbai chief Bhai Jagtap along with other senior leaders of the party met him at his Bandra residence to officially extend support for the by-poll scheduled on November 3.
The telephonic conversation took place when the delegation of Congress leaders were at Matoshri (Thackeray’s residence), said a Congress leader part of the delegation.
“As MVA we are together. Sonia ji (Sonia Gandhi) not only decided to support Shiv Sena but also extended her wishes to Uddhav ji. People are unhappy (with the Shinde-Fadnavis government) and its consequences will be seen in the bypoll results,” said Balasaheb Thorat, senior Congress leader.
“Shiv Sena had supported us for Deglur assembly constituency in Nanded and Kolhapur assembly bypoll so it was quite obvious that Congress in return will support them. The MVA is united against these dividing forces,” Jagtap said.
Both Congress and NCP had declared support to Shiv Sene for the bypoll. It has become a prestige battle for Thackeray and MVA allies on one side and CM Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the other.
On Tuesday, Uddhav Thackeray also telephoned Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to extend condolences over the passing away of Mulayam Singh Yadav, founder president of Samajwadi Party and three term chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
