Mumbai, June 26: In the midst of ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray were spotted traveling together on the same flight from Mumbai to Nagpur on Friday.
This unexpected encounter occurred during a period of significant political tension in the state. Witnesses reported that despite their deep political rivalry, both leaders greeted each other amicably and engaged in brief conversation.
Several senior leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT) were also on board, including MLA Aaditya Thackeray, Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai, and former MP Vinayak Raut.
The joint flight comes amid ongoing political debates regarding the defection of six UBT MPs to the Shinde faction. This incident follows Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent announcement that ‘Operation Tiger’ is not yet over, hinting at further defections from Shiv Sena (UBT).
In response to the recent defections of six of his MLAs, Thackeray has decided to launch a comprehensive statewide campaign to directly engage with grassroots party workers and counter the perception of his weakening hold on the party. His tour is set to begin on June 27 in the Yavatmal-Washim constituency, one of the areas affected by the recent defections, as he flies to Nagpur for the rally kickoff.
He will visit constituencies where party MPs have rebelled and joined the Shinde faction, and he has already announced plans to apologize to voters during his tour.
While political analysts believe this meeting on the plane was merely coincidental, in the highly unstable world of Maharashtra politics, any face-to-face interaction between Fadnavis and Thackeray could spark intense speculation about potential shifts in political equations ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.