Uddhav Thackeray reached out to BJP for a deal to avoid rift: report

Mumbai: In the thick of Eknath Shinde-led rebellion in Maharashtra weeks ago, the former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tried to hammer out a deal with the BJP rather than having his party divided.

Thackeray, according to India Today, told Devendra Fadnavis of BJP that his party would entirely jump across to form an alliance

He reached out to the BJP leadership to deal with him directly rather than giving support to Shinde, India today reported.

However, in the one-on-one conversation between them, the BJP leader refused Uddhav's proposal.

Obviously desperate in the face of impending rift in the party, Uddhav allegedly tried to speak to PM Modi and Amit Shah but both the leaders would not respond.

In 2019, the BJP leadership reportedly tried to talk to Uddhav but Shiv Sena refused any dialogue.

Later, Uddhav sought the help of some of his MPs who recently urged Uddhav Thackeray to support Murmu for president.

Even the MPs did not get any response from the BJP leadership.

The political drama in Maharashtra started when Uddhav called an urgent meeting of Shiv Sena MLAs after he suspected cross-voting in the Legislative Council polls.

Eknath Shinde who later became a rebel leader was absent at the meeting with other 11 MLAs.

Days later most of the Sena lawmakers crossed over to the Shinde camp, toppling the Uddhav Thackeray administration, paving the way for Shinde-led regime.