Key Points

Even though there has been no formal announcement on this till now by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) or the Shiv Sena (UBT), but Sanjay Raut’s post on X, in which he has also put up a picture of the two cousins together with a photograph of the late Bal Thackeray in the background, has fuelled speculation of rapprochement between Uddhav and Raj Thackeray and the possibility that they might hold the protest jointly.

Earlier, close to Raj Thackeray’s birthday Uddhav Thackeray had also hinted at a rapprochement between them but nothing concrete had come out of it.

On Thursday MNS chief Raj Thackeray announced the change in morcha date to July 5 instead of July 6 to protest the imposition of Hindi in Marathi and English-medium schools for classes 1 to 5 in Maharashtra.

This was done as the auspicious Ashadhi Ekadashi falls on July 6 when the devotees fast for the day and walk all the way to Pandharpur to pay tribute to the presiding deity Vitthal.

Significantly, Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday extended his party’s support to a morcha organised on July 7 in Mumbai by The Tribhasha Sutra (Three language formula) Anti-Mumbai Coordination Committee.

Raut’s post is significant because even though both the brothers and their parties had declared that they would not allow the imposition of Hindi, they had announced two different protests.

Insiders from both the parties said that efforts are on to fight as one, in order to avoid a split in the Marathi speaking people opposing the imposition of Hindi.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Sanjay Raut’s post was his own initiative or whether it had the blessings of the leaders of both the parties and the two estranged brothers have finally decided to come together for a cause close to their heart and fight for it jointly.

- IANS