Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: After forging an alliance with the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Maratha outfit Sambhaji Brigade, Shiv Sena (UBT) head and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will open a dialogue with socialist groups and leaders in the run up to the 2024 polls.
Notably, late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray had enjoyed very good relations with legendary socialist leaders like George Fernandes and Madhu Dandawate.
Next year is crucial for Shiv Sena (UBT) which will witness the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls, and also the civic polls in the state which include the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which had been controlled by them for close to a quarter of a century.
Thackeray will be meeting various leaders of socialist political outfits, trade unions and progressive groups at the MIG Club at Bandra on Sunday. More than 150 people are expected to attend the meeting.
The meeting assumes significance as it is directed towards strengthening the opposition I.N.D.I.A coalition, which is taking on the BJP-led NDA.
On January 23, 2023, the birth anniversary of the late Shiv Sena founder, a new Shiv shakti-Bhim shakti alliance was forged involving Shiv Sena (UBT) and VBA. Thackeray is the son of late Balasaheb Thackeray and grandson of Prabodhankar Thackeray, the legendary social reformer while Ambedkar is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.
On May 20, 2023, Thackeray decided to join hands with the Sambhaji Brigade faction headed by Manoj Akhare to counter the politics of polarisation and communal tensions in the state.
In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has an electoral alliance with Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led group of the NCP and some other parties. However, VBA is not yet part of the MVA or the I.N.D.I.A alliance.