Mumbai: As Raj Thackeray shared the dais with Narendra Modi in Mumbai, the BJP bestowed him the honour of speaking just before the prime minister. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president tendered a six-point wishlist, including fulfilling the long-pending demand to declare Marathi as a classical language and the preservation of forts dedicated to legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Thackeray and Modi's bonding at the historic Shivaji Park is a significant development in Maharashtra's politics, given that the state will go to assembly polls months after the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
While the MNS is not contesting the general election, it will field candidates in the assembly polls.
Raj is the nephew of late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and the estranged cousin of now Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Given the back-to-back splits in Shiv Sena and NCP, Raj’s formal entry into the BJP-led Maha Yuti (NDA) is significant. During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the MNS chief had hit out at Modi and then BJP president Amit Shah.
The show of strength was timed on Friday evening, coinciding with a parallel show of strength by the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. bloc, addressed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar.
Raj spoke just before Modi and after the addresses of Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and CM Eknath Shinde.
In his speech, he praised Modi for abrogating Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, implementing the triple-talaq ban and "making the dream of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir a reality". “I consider these courageous decisions,” he said.
Besides demanding that Marathi be given the status of a classical language and the conservation of Shivaji Maharaj's forts by instituting a committee of international experts, Raj’s other four demands include: incorporating the history of the Maratha Empire in textbooks across the country, immediate refurbishment of the Mumbai-Goa Highway, curbing "anti-national forces within India" and countering the opposition's claim that the Constitution will be amended.
The permission for the rally at Shivaji Park was obtained by the MNS from the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), making it more significant.
In 2005-06, Raj walked out of the Sena fold following differences with cousin Uddhav and formed the MNS.
In August 2011, he undertook a nine-day tour of Gujarat and praised Modi, the then Gujarat CM for his 'model of development'. However, post 2014, Raj emerged as one of Modi's most vocal critics. However, once the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the BJP broke, Raj changed tacks.