Amit Shah in Mumbai to mend ties with Shiv Sena?

The BJP is looking at a possible scenario of snapping ties with its oldest ally, Shiv Sena following increasing differences between the two. The saffron high command was seething after the Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday praised Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his performance in Parliament during the no-trust motion. The moment of Mr Gandhi hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the floor of the House was highlighted on the front page of Saamana, with the headline in Marathi reading “Bhawa Jhinkalas”, which roughly translates to “brother you stole the show.” The BJP President is in Mumbai today, meeting the Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at BJP’s Vasant Smruti office in Dadar.

The Sena drew parallels with the World Cup football final and said, “The PM has emerged victorious like France but the Rahul Gandhi  won many hearts like the runners-up Croatia.” With pressure mounting from the Maharashtra unit to do a PDP on the Sena, it was imminent for the BJP to meet the leaders in Mumbai.

Fearing that the Sena could take the first step to snap ties with the BJP before the general elections considering how they have repeatedly given statements to the media of contesting 2019 elections alone, the saffron high command has asked its cadre to work on each of the 48 LS constituencies in the state. Shattering the BJP’s hopes of showcasing an “united NDA” and giving assurance to Mr Shah to vote against the motion, the Sena “as a second thought” abstained.

The BJP was left in the lurch as Mr Shah had personally called up Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to seek his support, but the Sena chose to stay absent during the No-Confidence Vote in Parliament. Sena Chief had issued a whip to its MPs to be present in the House, only to withdraw it hours later, leaving BJP red-faced. Ties between the two had soured ever since BJP replaced Sena as the senior partner in the state. The Sena, which has decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its own but continues to bash the government on several policies.

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