'Ties Like Aamir-Kiran': Raut as Fadnavis Says Sena-BJP 'Not Enemies'

As Maharashtra Assembly session begins, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut says ties with the BJP aren't like 'India-Pakistan'.

(Photo: The Quint)

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut

Amid speculations of a possible reunion of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, following reports of cracks in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Sena's national spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Monday, 5 July, said that the Sena-BJP relation is not like India-Pakistan but are more like that of Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao.

Raut was indicating to the divorce of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and his wife, Kiran Rao, who recently announced an "amicable" separation.

The prediction of the Sena-BJP reunion has surfaced amid a visible rift in the MVA that comprises the Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Congress.

"We are not India-Pakistan. Look at Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, it is like them. Our (Shiv Sena-BJP) political ways are different, but the friendship will remain intact," Raut said, as quoted by ANI.

Raut was commenting on former Maaharashtra CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis' remark saying the two "weren't enemies".

What Fadnavis Said

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Fadnavis on Sunday, 4 July, when asked about a possible reunion of the two parties, said that the two "weren't enemies".

"Our friend (Shiv Sena) contested the 2019 Assembly elections with us. But after polls, they (Sena) joined hands with the very people (NCP and Congress) against whom we contested the polls," news agency PTI reported quoted him as saying. He added that there were no "ifs and buts in politics and decisions are taken as per prevailing situations".

Fadnavis' comments and Raut's reactions came just ahead of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly that kicked off on Monday.

Doesn't Mean We Will Reunite: BJP

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrakant Patil, addressing reporters outside the Assembly, however, said that Fadnavis' comments don't mean the former allies will reunite.

"Fadnavis said that the BJP and the Shiv Sena are not enemies. It's 100% true. But this doesn't mean the two will come together to form a government," Patil said, as quoted by ANI.

Speculations have been rife of a possible reunion of the former allies who turned bitter following the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The speculations gained momentum after a "private meeting" was reportedly held between Thackeray and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi while he was leading an MVA delegation to meet him at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.

The rift in the MVA was out in the open after the Congress snubbed NCP chief Sharad Pawar by declaring that it will go solo in all future polls in the state. The party is also contesting the upcoming local body polls in the state.