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NEW DELHI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde took a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is “a very clever person” who knows “how dangerous a scheming friend could be.”Shinde’s remarks came on Saturday, a day after Fadnavis and Thackeray travelled together on a flight from Mumbai to Nagpur, triggering political speculation over the unexpected meeting between the two rivals.“Fadnavis is a very clever person. He knows very well how dangerous a scheming friend could be,” PTI quoted Shinde saying.Responding to questions about the flight, Shinde recalled the events of 2019, when the BJP and the then-undivided Shiv Sena contested the Maharashtra assembly elections together but later parted ways after Thackeray joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.“The BJP and Shiv Sena had taken the same flight in 2019, but then he took a different flight and aligned with the Congress,” PTI cited him saying.When Thackeray was asked about sharing the flight with his political rival, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said the two had a “very high-level discussion”.When pressed about the outcome of the conversation, Thackeray said, “The result will be known in the coming days,” further fuelling political chatter.However, the BJP dismissed any political significance to the meeting, maintaining that leaders across party lines often share cordial personal relations despite political differences.
