Uddhav, Raj Thackeray discuss alliance, seat-sharing for civic polls

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj in Mumbai and both leaders are understood to have discussed seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming municipal corporation polls.  Uddhav visited 'Shivtirth', the residence of Raj in Dadar in central Mumbai, the latest in a series of meetings this year between the once politically estranged cousins who have been warming up to each other in recent times amid signs of reconciliation and possible alliance between their parties.  Although the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS are yet to formally announce an alliance, the Thackeray cousins have given enough hints of an imminent tie-up for local body polls, especially the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Nashik, where the two outfits have pockets of influence.  A Shiv Sena (UBT) leader disclosed that during the meeting, Uddhav and Raj are believed to have discussed potential seat-sharing between their parties for the civic polls and also the alleged irregularities in voters list, an issue which the Opposition has been raising vociferously. They also discussed the reported resistance by the Congress, a partner of the Shiv Sena (UBT), to align with the MNS, he said.  The Shiv Sena (UBT) is a constituent of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP).  Though the MNS has joined forces with the Opposition in flagging certain issues, especially alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls in Maharashtra, the Raj Thackeray-led outfit is not yet a member of the MVA. Earlier this week, Uddhav and Raj had submitted a letter to the State Election Commission seeking more time to submit objections and suggestions in draft voters list.  Maharashtra is currently in the midst of holding rural and urban local body polls. Elections to 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will take place on December 2 and they will be followed by polls (schedule not yet announced) to 336 Panchayat Samitis, 32 Zilla Parishads and 29 municipal corporations across the state.  The entire local body election process has to be completed by January 31.