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Commenting on Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's purported extension of an olive branch to Maharashtra chief Raj Thackeray, the Nationalist Congress Party said if the estranged Thackeray cousins wanted to team up, one of them would have to shed his ideology.
"Shiv Sena and MNS have different ideologies. While Shiv Sena has been harping on Hindutva, the MNS chief's political plank is Maharashtra dharma," said NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik.
To form an alliance, one of them would have to let go of his ideology, Malik said, adding, "Both are doing politics on emotional issues rather than developmental issues. Development is never on their agenda."
"We will be happy if the two families come together," the NCP leader quipped.
He said that even if the MNS and Shiv Sena came together, it would not affect the Congress-NCP alliance.
"It is wrong to say that they (Shiv Sena-MNS) get votes from the Marathi people. Actually we are getting votes from Marathi-speakers. Because of their political agendas, youth have been turning back on them," he said.
On Tuesday, in an interview to the party mouthpiece, Uddhav Thackeray had indicated that he would welcome any friendly overture by Raj.