Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Calls On PM Modi, To Meet Sonia Gandhi

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had his first official meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening. He was accompanied by his son and Maharashtra Environment Minister, Aditya Thackeray.

In a tweet posted on the timeline of the office of Uddhav Thackeray, the Maharashtra chief minister's meeting with PM Modi has been described as a courtesy call:

Uddhav Thackeray's meeting with PM Modi comes against the background of strained relations between the former allies. The BJP and Shiv Sena contested the Maharashtra assembly elections based on a pre-poll alliance. However, following differences after results were announced, the Shiv Sena broke away from its former senior partner and joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress. The only other time when the Maharashtra chief Minister had met PM Modi was when the prime minister visited Pune.

Uddhav Thackeray is also scheduled to call on interim president of the Congress, Sonia Gandhi. His meetings with PM Modi and the Congress leadership assume significance in the wake of his latest statement on the National Population Register (NPR).

Relations between allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have also come under some strain over the National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the Elgar Parishad, Bhima-Koregaon violence cases. The NCP supremo, Sharad Pawar, had expressed his displeasure in the matter on more than one occasion. However, Uddhav Thackeray clarified earlier that the Bhima-Koregaon case is still with the Maharashtra government.

Uddhav Thackeray remarked on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong with the NPR and that it was similar to the census exercise, a point of view which runs contrary to what the Congress and NCP have been articulating on the contentious issue.