New Delhi, March 20 -- The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is likely to contest the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Thakeray, accompanied by his son Amit Thackeray, flew to Delhi and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on March 19 adding to the speculation of a new seat-sharing arrangement emerging in Maharashtra, the state that sends 48 members to the lower house of the Parliament.

Raj Thackeray, 55, is the estranged cousin of Uddhav Thackeray, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He left the then-undivided Shiv Sena in 2005 to form the MNS, a year later.

Known for his oratory skills and anti-north India rhetoric, Raj has not been consistent in politics. Sample th...