Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Why Raj Thackeray is important for BJP in Maharashtra. 5 Points

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thakeray, accompanied by his son Amit Thackeray, flew to Delhi and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on March 19 adding to the speculation of a new seat-sharing arrangement emerging in Maharashtra, the state that sends 48 members to the lower house of the Parliament. Raj Thackeray, 55, is the estranged cousin of Uddhav Thackeray, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

He left the then-undivided Shiv Sena in 2005 to form the MNS, a year later. Known for his oratory skills and anti-north India rhetoric, Raj has not been consistent in politics. Sample this: In 2014, he supported Narendra Modi, the then Prime Ministerial candidate.

But in 2019, he led a high-pitched campaign- ‘Modi-mukt Bharat’ - expressing disappointment over the ‘unkept’ promises of the PM Modi-led first BJP government. Also Read : No CAA, UCC: 5 key highlights of DMK manifesto for Lok Sabha polls Raj even joined the Opposition chorus and questioned the PM over the 2019 Pulwama attacks, and the Balakot strike. Raj's 'Marathi Manoos' plank championing anti-north Indian rhetoric in Maharashtra is an open secret, yet the BJP is seemingly allowing him on board the NDA alliance.

"BJP knows that UP and other parts of north India are already taken care of. All it has to worry about is Maharashtra, which has largest MPs after Uttar Pradesh," said a political observer. But why does Raj Thackeray matter for the BJP? His party, MNS has just one MLA in the state and does not wield much influence.