CM Mamata Banerjee invests quality time with Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, sparking speculation about the reason behind the huddle between these two strong regional satraps. Ms Banerjee, who is on a three-day trip of Mumbai, met Mr Thackeray at a private hotel as part of a courtesy call. Mr Thackeray was accompanied by his son and Yuva Sena chief, Aditya Thackeray.

Apart from Mr Thackeray, Ms Banerjee also met former Union minister and Congress leader Milind Deora. Ms Banerjee is in the city to invite business tycoons here to West Bengal government’s ambitious Global Business Summit in January. The West Bengal government is organising the summit, currently in its third year, with a view to attracting domestic and international investment in the state. Buzz is that through these annual summits, Ms Banerjee is trying to project herself as a business-friendly leader.

Sources also informed The Asian Age that Mr Aditya and Ms Banerjee's nephew and Trinamool Congress MP, Abhishek Banerjee, are good friends and exchange notes on a regular basis. The Thursday meeting between Ms Banerjee and Mr Thackeray had been planned and was in the nature of a courtesy visit.

A senior Sena leader close to the development said, “It is obvious that when two political leaders meet, they discuss politics. Both leaders have their own national appeal. They might have discussed issues concerning the nation but nothing concrete.”

Meanwhile, a source hinted that with Mr Thackeray, never losing a single opportunity to criticise the BJP and Ms Banerjee highly critical of PM Narendra Modi’s government as well, the duo might have exchanged thoughts on this line.