Open-door BJP may let in Raj Thackeray next, courts former ‘outcast’ in tricky Maharashtra

IN THE 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray rooted for Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister. Five years later, Raj led the charge against Modi in a high-pitch digital and physical campaign, expressing disappointment over the “unkept” promises of his government. Come 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the MNS seems ready to bat for Modi again.

On Tuesday, Raj met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi along with his son, after which senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said the talks between them on the Lok Sabha polls had been “positive”.

While Raj, 55, has always been unpredictable in his politics, one constant has been his strident son-of-the-soil or Marathi Manoos plank. Before now, the BJP has been wary of any understanding with him, for fear of alienating its North Indian vote bank in Mumbai and the Hindi heartland. The difference this time seems to be the difficult contest the BJP is facing in Maharashtra – a state where the NDA won 41 of the 48 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP’s target for Maharashtra this time is “Mission 45 plus”.

Sources said that the BJP is willing to offer Raj the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat as part of the bargain, though the MNS wants at least one constituency more, Shirdi, to get enough votes to retain its status of a ‘state party’.

The RSS has reportedly given its consent to the alliance, seeing in the MNS a strong Hindutva face.

A BJP politician who has cordial relations with Raj said: “In politics, the only thing constant is change. There are no permanent friends, nor enemies.”

In 2019, certainly, the MNS looked like the enemy. While the party, which could never build on the initial promise of Raj inheriting the Bal Thackeray legacy, and has been on a