Saamna urges Thackeray cousins to patch up like Ambanis

An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday called upon feuding Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj to take a cue from the rapprochement reached between the Ambani brothers and bury the hatchet.

An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday called upon feuding Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj to take a cue from the rapprochement reached between the Ambani brothers and bury the hatchet.

HT Image

The editorial appealed to the estranged Thackeray brothers to make truce by following the example of industrialists Mukesh and Anil Ambani, who have recently come together, and join hands for the greater good of Maharashtra.

Raj Thackeray left Shiv Sena in 2005 to form a new party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Referring to the editorial, senior Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said: "Neither Balasaheb (Bal Thackeray) nor Uddhav would want to play politics by breaking ties of the blood."

Political circles have been speculating about how the MNS could eat into the Shiv Sena's traditional vote bank in its bastion, Mumbai, during the 2012 municipal elections.

Moreover, Raj has been cozying with the ruling alliance of Congress and Nationalist Congress Party for the past few months sounding alarm bells in the Shiv Sena camp.

On Saturday, Raj visited Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's residence ostensibly to discuss the problems being faced by students of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board and the pending junior college admissions.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected the 'best five' formula espoused by the Maharashtra government for admission to Class 11. Consequently, the admission process has been delayed causing problems for students.