Mumbai: The MNS chief Raj Thackeray visited BJP office here and met its state President Sudhir Mungantiwar, raising a few eyebrows.
After inaugurating a party office in LIC building, Raj, the estranged nephew of BJP ally and Sena chief Bal Thackeray, went to the BJP office located nearby, taking everyone by surprise.
He was welcomed by Mungantiwar and other BJP leaders including Vinod Tawade, Madhu Chavan and Madhav Bhandari. The informal meeting went on for about 20 minutes which is considered significant in the political circles given that the civic polls in the metropolis are due in early 2012.
Mungantiwar, however, maintained that "it was not a political meet but an informal one. He (Raj) came as a guest and we just had tea."
When asked as to how the BJP would explain to Shiv Sena the meeting with the MNS chief, Mungantiwar said, "he (Raj) is not their enemy, he is (Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray's) brother."
During the last assembly polls, Mungantiwar had called Raj "a test tube baby of NCP leader Sharad Pawar" for eating into the BJP votes.
Asked about his remarks, Mungantiwar said he still held the same view.
Raj's visit came in the backdrop of a faceoff between Shiv Sena and MNS activists at a nearby LIC office.
Hundreds of activists from both the parties shouted slogans, leading to tension in the area.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 20, 2010, 21:23