Ajit Pawar meets Raj Thackeray

A day after he advocated a tie-up with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the Lok Sabha elections, NCP leader Ajit Pawar Wednesday met its chief Raj Thackeray here. The meeting between Pawar and the MNS chief, who have in the past engaged in verbal sparring, took place at Thackeray's residence, NCP sources said.

The meeting lasted for about one and a half hours, they said. Ajit Pawar had Tuesday pitched for an alliance with the MNS to ensure there is no division of votes as opposition parties take on the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine.

The Congress and NCP are at present busy stitching together a coalition of opposition parties in Maharashtra, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh's 80. The NCP has five members in the current Lok Sabha while the MNS had drawn a blank in the 2014 polls. The Raj Thackeray-led party had supported the BJP but put up candidates against the Shiv Sena..

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