Uddhav missing when Maharashtra CM pays his tributes to Bal Thackeray

The two leaders, however, met at the mayor’s bungalow in Dadar and had a brief discussion on the proposal for the late Sena supremo’s memorial

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray avoided a public appearance with Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, when the chief minister (CM) went to pay his respects to Sena founder Bal Thackeray on his sixth death anniversary. The development comes at a time when the ties between the two saffron allies –Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – remain strained.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray pays his tribute to Sena founder Bal Thackeray on his sixth death anniversary at Shivaji Park, Dadar, on Saturday. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

The two leaders, however, met at the mayor’s bungalow in Dadar and had a brief discussion on the proposal for the late Sena supremo’s memorial. During the meeting, Fadnavis assured Thackeray all pending permissions for the memorial will be in place soon, senior Sena leaders said. The meeting was also attended by state industries minister Subhash Desai and member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Sanjay Raut, both from the Sena.

After the meeting concluded, the CM went to Shivaji Park and paid floral tributes to Bal Thackeray. It was expected that Uddhav would join Fadnavis at the venue. However, the CM was received by Uddhav’s son Aaditya and his wife Rashmi at the makeshift memorial for the late leader. Other Sena leaders, Diwakar Raote and Ramdas Kadam, who are ministers in Fadnavis’ cabinet, were also present at the venue during the CM’s visit.

A senior Sena functionary, who had attended the meeting at the mayor’s residence, dismissed any strain between the two parties. “Uddhav ji had visited Shivaji Park earlier. Therefore, he did not go there again… The meeting between them [Fadnavis and Uddhav] lasted for about 10 minutes, during which the CM assured that permissions for the memorial will be procured in a month or two,” the leader said, requesting anonymity.

The proposed memorial will come up in Shivaji Park, Dadar, on the plot where the Mumbai mayor’s bungalow stands today. The Sena-led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has handed over the mayoral bungalow to the Bal Thackeray Memorial Trust, last week. The bungalow is a Grade II-B heritage structure and therefore, no major alterations will be made to it.

Next week, Uddhav is scheduled to be in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, where he is expected to lash out at the BJP over the Ram temple issue. He has already announced that he will “question” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Ram temple promise made by the BJP in the run up to the 2014 general elections.