Raj Thackeray drives to Matoshree with roses for Uddhav’s 65th birthday

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday (July 27) drove down to cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s house to wish him on the latter’s 65th birthday.

Flanked by his party MP Sanjay Raut, Uddhav received his cousin at the entrance of the Matoshree bungalow in Bandra, one of the most recognised landmarks in Mumbai.

Saying it with roses

Raj presented his cousin with a large bouquet of red roses.

“On the occasion of my elder brother, Shiv Sena chief Mr Uddhav Thackeray’s birthday, I visited Matoshri, the residence of the late Honorable Mr Balasaheb Thackeray, to extend my best wishes,” Raj posted on X.

Also read: Uddhav-Raj Thackeray chemistry aside, can it break the Mahayuti maths?

He also tagged a photo of the meeting, taken with a portrait of Bal Thackeray, his uncle and Uddhav’s father, in the backdrop.

Uddhav also expressed happiness over meeting his cousin.

Cousins back together

At his joint rally with Raj in Mumbai on July 5, Uddhav had said he and the MNS chief have “come together to stay together”.

At the “victory” rally held to celebrate the rollback of the Hindi language GRs (resolutions) by the BJP-led government, the cousins shared a political stage for the first time in almost two decades, on the issue of Marathi identity and “imposition” of the Hindi language.

Raj and Sena

Raj quit the Shiv Sena in December 2005, claiming that he “sought respect from Matoshree but received humiliation”. He formed the MNS the next year.

Also read: Uddhav calls for unity with Raj Thackeray for Marathi cause

However, in July 2012, Raj drove Uddhav to Matoshree from Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, where the latter underwent an angiography.

In January 2019, too, Raj went to Matoshree and handed over to Uddhav the wedding invitation of his son Amit, who got married later that month.

(With agency inputs)