Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital fueling speculations that the MNS may become part of the BJP-led NDA for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Thackeray called on Shah in the presence of BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde.

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This could give a major boost to the alliance in Maharashtra and could help the ruling alliance to create a further dent in the vote bank of his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction.

Maharashtra will vote in five phases for 48 constituencies in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Counting of votes will take place on June 4. The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be held in seven phases starting on April 19 and ending on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.

Soon after MNS chief Raj Thackeray and his son Amit Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP legislator Atul Bhatkhalkar said if the MNS chief joins hands with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the MahaYuti Government in Maharashtra would win 45-plus Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.

“If Raj Thackeray thinks like that, he is welcome. The people of Maharashtra and the country have decided that the MahaYuti will win more than 45 seats in the state, while the NDA will bag 400 seats in the country. If Raj Thackeray joins the alliance, it will surely benefit us in the upcoming elections,’’ said Bhatkhalkar.

BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde are part of the ruling alliance in Maharashtra. The BJP has often attacked its political rivals for practising dynastic politics.

Meanwhile, the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi is facing trouble finalising its seat sharing arrangement. The three principal parties the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (S Pawar) are yet to finalise the seat sharing arrangement. MVA constituent Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar has made his displeasure public alleging that the UBT sena and NCP (S Pawar) are not hearing out the VBA and its demands.

However, Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut is confident that the INDIA bloc would give a tough fight to the BJP-led NDA. “India Alliance is going to win 300 seats this time, the BJP will not be able to cross even 220 this time. This is our guarantee…” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut had said on Monday.