Mumbai:
Even as Raj and Uddhav Thackeray show no signs of coming together in the near future, their better halves seem to be bonding well. Sharmila and Rashmi Thackeray were spotted together at Design One: The Flagship show of the Sahachari Foundation at World Trade Centre in Mumbai.
This comes as good news for Satish Walanju, a businessman and Shiv Sainik, who is behind the Thackeray Jodo campaign.
Walanju said, "It is only ego that is stopping them from coming together. Why should the Marathi
manoos suffer due to their differences?"
Walanju feels the two brothers should come together to fight for the cause of the Marathi
manoos, instead of taking separate stands leading to division of the Marathi votes.
"Uddhav Thackeray may say that Maharashtrians are not such fools that they do not know what is good for them and also whom to vote for. But I would like to ask if the Marathi
manoos knows how the division of the votes takes place in Mumbai and how the Congress government came to power," said Walanju.
Listing out a number of programmes planned to bring Thackeray brothers together, Walanju said, "On the day of Dussehra, we plan to symbolically burn '
duhi cha shaap' (the curse of division), which has afflicted the Marathi
manoos and Maharashtra. We would continue with our agitation and our efforts to bring the two brothers together."
He added that as a part of their programme, they would hold a public rally on January 23, 2011. He is sure that if they are able to get support of one lakh people, the brothers would sit up and take notice.
Walanju also claims that he is receiving wide support from people across the state who want the brothers to come together. "It is a matter of time, before it gains mass support," said Walanju.
After failed attempts by senior Shiv Sena leaders to bring together Sena executive chief Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, local Sena activists have taken the initiative to do the same.
The initiative called '
Mazi Chalval Mi Maharashtracha' (My Movement, I Belong To Maharashtra) led by Satish Walanju, a senior Shiv Sainik from Worli in Central Mumbai, and six others who launched 'Thackeray
Jodo' campaign in June this year to bring the cousins together for betterment of Marathi people.
The campaign is purely on the basis of public support and there is no involvement of any big political leader, Walanju had said. The Sainiks want Uddhav and Raj together to win the 2012 BMC elections or else the Congress-NCP would come in power.
A walkathon was also organised in the city this Sunday to bring the Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, together. Walanju said Sena workers have not given up hope to bring the cousins duo together.
Walanju had organised the walkathon from Raj's house in Dadar to Uddhav's residence in Bandra. The demonstration was a 'silent morcha'.