Sanjay Raut to meet Rahul, Priyanka

The meeting comes after the Shiv Sena emphasised the importance of the Congress in any opposition front against the BJP.

Last week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had met Raut, Sena leader and state minister Aaditya Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. After meeting Pawar, Banerjee had said that there was no United Progressive Alliance now. However, the Sena had said that forming a parallel front to the UPA is like strengthening the BJP, and that the most dangerous threat is that even those who are fighting against Narendra Modi and his ideology think that the Congress should be wiped out. The Sena had asked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to answer what they intend to do with the UPA.

Sources said that the Sena and Congress leaders are likely to discuss current political movements on creating an alternative front to the BJP and Assembly elections in five states. “The issues of national and state-level importance will be discussed in the meeting,” said a Sena leader.

This will be Raut’s second meeting with Rahul in two months. In October, Raut had met Rahul and discussed the violence in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri and other issues related to Maharashtra.

Sena backing the Congress and their multiple meetings are being seen as an indication that there is no threat to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the Sena, Congress and NCP.

Meanwhile, Milind Narvekar, Shiv Sena secretary and CM Uddhav Thackeray’s PA, on Monday sparked a controversy after he tweeted a photo of Shiv Sainiks who took part in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. “Tributes to the sacrifice made by Shiv Sainiks for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” said Narvekar in the tweet.