Estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on Saturday said that they were ready to keep aside their “minor differences” for the larger interest of Maharashtra, The Indian Express reported.

Uddhav Thackeray, a former chief minister, heads the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), while Raj Thackeray heads the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

In 2005, Raj Thackeray had quit the then-undivided Shiv Sena after party founder Bal Thackeray named his son Uddhav as his successor. A year later, Raj Thackeray launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

On Saturday, he said in a podcast with filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar: “For me, the interest of Maharashtra is bigger while everything else is secondary. I can keep aside our minor disputes.”

He said that was ready to work with Uddhav Thackeray, and the only question was whether the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief was ready to work with him too.

“When major issues arise, the disputes and quarrels between us are small,” India Today quoted Raj Thackeray as saying. “For Maharashtra and the Marathi people, the conflicts between us are insignificant.”

Later in the day, Uddhav Thackeray also said that he was ready to put aside their disputes for the sake of Maharashtra. “I am also ready to set aside the small quarrels and come together in the interest of the Marathi community,” he said.

However, he added: “First, decide that you won’t invite home and serve food to those who act against Maharashtra’s interests, and only then talk about the welfare of the state.”

His remarks were an apparent reference to Raj Thackeray’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“When I was saying during the Lok Sabha elections that industries were being moved from Maharashtra to Gujarat, if there had been opposition at that time, then the BJP government wouldn’t be at the Centre today,” he added.

Speaking on Saturday’s development, Uddhav Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut also reiterated that Raj Thackeray should deal with those who were against the interests of Maharashtra, The Indian Express reported.

“He [Raj] is a Thackeray. Uddhav too is a Thackeray,” the newspaper quoted Raut as saying. “Their relationship is permanent. Due to political differences, they have chosen separate paths.”

Raut added: “We had made it clear during the Lok Sabha elections that the enemies of Maharashtra should not be given any kind of help. Uddhav Thackeray had said that there are some powers that underestimate Maharashtra. They keep conspiring against the interests of the Marathi manoos [people].”

Raut added that Raj Thackeray “should not mingle or sit alongside them”, according to The Indian Express. “He [Raj] should adopt this stand. If he is taking this stand, then we are ready to… hold discussions,” he added.