India, April 20 -- Hours after a podcast featuring Raj Thackeray went viral online, the official X handle of the Shiv Sena (UBT) posted a video in which his cousin Uddhav Thackeray said he is willing to set aside minor disputes in the interests of Maharashtra. In a split-screen frame, the video shows Raj shaking hands with Uddhav outside the Thackeray residence, Matoshree.

The video represents the mood in both Uddhav's Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Summed up, it is one of hope and scepticism.

The cousins - who were both once key leaders of the Shiv Sena - have been bitter rivals for three decades. If they do reunite politically, it could mark another upheaval in Maharashtra politics, a state already ro...