Raj Thackeray returns to Sena Bhavan after 20 years, says 'feels like coming out of jail'

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday entered Shiv Sena Bhavan after nearly two decades, calling the visit emotionally overwhelming as he returned to the party headquarters he once considered home.

"I feel like I have come out of jail after 20 years because everyone is asking me the same question -- how do you feel after coming here after 20 years," Raj Thackeray told reporters at Sena Bhavan.

Recalling his long association with the building, Raj said the memories tied to the Sena headquarters



went back several decades. "I have very fond memories of Shiv Sena Bhavan. It will take days to narrate those memories," he said, recounting an incident from 1977, the year the building was constructed.

Raj Thackeray's return to Sena Bhavan comes at a politically significant moment. Nearly 20 years after he quit the undivided Shiv Sena following differences with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray and went on to form the MNS, the two leaders announced a pre-poll alliance in December for the upcoming civic body elections in Maharashtra.