Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray recently ignored phone calls from his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray who is desperate to maintain his relevance in the state politics, according to a report in India Today.
Quoting its source in MNS, the report says that Uddhav did not answer the phone calls of Raj because he is firm on not entering into any kind of tie-up with MNS for February 21 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
"Saheb (Raj) called Uddhav on his mobile phone twice but there was no response," India Today quoted its source as saying.
Raj Thackeray attempted to contact Uddhav after he got a clear indication from the BJP that it was not interested in any tie-up with MNS for BMC polls.
The report further quotes its source as saying that Raj was hoping to form an alliance with the BJP in case the latter decides to go solo in the BMC election scheduled on February 21.
"There was a tactic understanding between BJP and MNS. The BJP had denied entry to many MNS workers unlike how it inducted workers from Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP as a part of the understanding. However, when Sangale was inducted in BJP, saheb (Raj) got a message that the BJP was no more interested in joining hands with him," he added.
Some political observers pointed out that by not receiving phone calls from Raj, Uddhav has avenged the snub he received from MNS chief ahead of 2014 general elections.
At that time, Raj Thackeray had publicly snubbed Uddhav for his willingness to join hands before the Lok Sabha election.
"He (Uddhav) extended his hand for friendship but I did a tata to him," Raj Thackeray had said after coming out of a meeting with Ratan Tata at his residence.
