Uddhav Thackeray asks Sharad Pawar to speak at Mumbai rally; Congress neta to visit

MUMBAI: Amid reports of differences in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray has requested NCP president Sharad Pawar to address the joint MVA rally to be held in Mumbai on May 1, while Congress leader K C Venugopal is scheduled to meet Thackeray at Matoshree. It is likely Pawar will address the rally.
Thackeray met Pawar on Tuesday evening at the latter's Silver Oak residence in South Mumbai. The MVA began its series of rallies with one in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar two weeks ago. The second rally is in Nagpur on April 16, and it will be followed by the Mumbai rally.
A Sena (UBT) functionary said there have been reports about a rift in MVA in the wake of NCP's opposition to a joint parliamentary committee probe into allegations against the Adani Group and Rahul Gandhi's comments on Veer Savarkar. "There was talk of MVA unity at the Pawar-Uddhav meeting so to take things forward and send a message of unity Uddhavji has requested Pawar address the joint MVA rally in Mumbai. Pawar's speech would be seen as his political message and demonstrate unity against BJP," the functionary said.
Venugopal's meeting with Uddhav too is set to come weeks after Rahul Gandhi's comments on Savarkar, which had irked the Sena (UBT), forcing it to skip meetings of opposition parties called by Congress last month. Venugopal's meeting is considered significant as he will be the first senior Congress leader from Delhi to meet Uddhav at Matoshree in recent times. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the MVA and unity of opposition parties at the national level is "one of the important agendas."
Raut said during their meeting, Uddhav and Pawar had a detailed discussion on the future direction of politics. "The discussion was positive. Many issues were discussed. K C Venugopal is coming to Mumbai, and he has sought Uddhavji's time and will meet him and talk to him on behalf of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Just like Uddhavji had a discussion with NCP chief Sharad Pawar," he said.
Raut added, "The Sena (UBT) is in touch with Congress. There is good dialogue, and there are no differences. I have met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and discussed various issues. All three parties are strong. The Nagpur rally of April 16 will be historic, all three parties are working, but the Congress is taking the lead. No matter what the pressure, MVA will fight polls together."
While the MVA rally in Sambhajinagar was said to have received a good response, state Congress chief Nana Patole had not attended it.
Patole on Wednesday said that there were no differences in the MVA and that it was all propaganda by the opposition as "they are scared of growing support for the MVA."