Thackeray and Banerjee reportedly have maintained a regular contact since November 2016, when Sena MPs had joined her march from the Parliament House to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. (ANI/File)
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will participate in a mega rally planned by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata early next year.
Banerjee extended an invite to Thackeray for the January 19, 2019, rally, during her meeting with Sena’s parliamentary party leader Sanjay Raut at TMC office in New Delhi on Wednesday.
According to sources, Raut told Banerjee that Thackeray would join the show, which is aimed at projecting Banerjee as the anchor of an anti-BJP formation ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Thackeray and Banerjee reportedly have maintained a regular contact since November 2016, when Sena MPs had joined her march from the Parliament House to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. In June, the TMC chief had taken to Twitter to greet Thackeray on the occasion of the 52nd Foundation Day of the Sena. Thackeray and his son Aditya had also met Banerjee when she visited Mumbai last November.
Talks of Thackeray’s participation in the Kolkata rally comes only days after Shiv Sena — an NDA constituent — had almost put the BJP on hold by boycotting the Lok Sabha as the House took up a motion of no-confidence against the Narendra Modi-led government during the ongoing Monsoon Session.
Banerjee is likely to undertake a nationwide tour from November to invite other opposition parties for the Kolkata rally, which will be a show of unity by opposition parties. During the tour, she would extend invitations to key opposition leaders. The BJP has planned a counter show in Kolkata on January 23, 2019, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.