India news: Raj Thackeray left the Shiv Sena in November 2005, after which he floated his own political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), in March 2006.

Raj Thackeray and Uddhav meet at wedding, fuel speculation of reconciliation

Political circles in Maharashtra are buzzing with speculation surrounding a reported proposal from the top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership to Raj Thackeray, urging him to merge his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) with Shiv Sena and assume its presidency.

BJP is urging Raj Thackeray to merge MNS with Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde: Report

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena head Raj Thackeray on Friday (Feb 9) released a statement demanding Bharat Ratna for Bal Thackeray, founder of Shiv Sena, who passed away in the year 2012.

India: Raj Thackeray demands Bharat Ratna for Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray

Further, he was joined by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray who tweeted, 'This is a victory for the Electronic Voting Machine'

Amid allegations of EVM tampering, Shiv Sena challenges BJP to conduct elections on ballot paper