Hyderabad, April 21 -- The Thackeray cousins, the nephew and son of the patriarch, the late Bal Thackeray, have suddenly created waves. Nephew Raj Thackeray has proffered his hand to Uddhav. Uddhav has shown his inclination to accept it, but not without conditions for a likely unity.

If the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena gets together with Uddhav's Shiv Sena, the two entities can be a formidable combination. Both need each other politically, not only for filial reasons. Since Raj Thackeray left to form his outfit, the Sena has weakened, but Raj has not strengthened himself or his party. Despite a commanding presence, he has failed to score in electoral politics.

Raj is a careful speaker with measured articulation and comma...