BJP invokes Vajpayee funeral to woo bitter ally Shiv Sena, but Uddhav remains stern
Politics

BJP invokes Vajpayee funeral to woo bitter ally Shiv Sena, but Uddhav remains stern

Since Modi became PM, Sena has publicly compared the current NDA govt to the one under Vajpayee, saying latter gave more respect & space to allies.

   
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray | Arvind Yadav/ Getty Images

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray | Arvind Yadav/ Getty Images

Since Modi became PM, Sena has publicly compared the current NDA govt to the one under Vajpayee, saying latter gave more respect & space to allies.

New Delhi/ Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was noticeably warm and friendly with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as the two leaders paid their last respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Delhi Friday afternoon.

For those couple of hours, the bad blood between the two allies — the BJP and Shiv Sena — receded into the background.

But political analysts said there was more than meets the eye. That the Maharashtra chief minister used the occasion of Vajpayee’s cremation to reach out and mend fences with his irascible ally.


Also read: BJP wants ally on board, Shiv Sena says it’s in wait and watch mode


Fadnavis was seated right next to Thackeray for the entire time the two spent in the BJP office in Delhi when Vajpayee’s body was brought there. Thackeray also met BJP national president Amit Shah and several other BJP leaders went out of their way to engage with him, shaking his hand and exchanging pleasantries, BJP sources told ThePrint.

But Thackeray seems not to have been charmed. His body language remained stiff and stern, reminding those wooing him that the Shiv Sena remains a severe critic of the BJP.

Sena’s repeated flip-flops

Fadnavis’ show of camaraderie comes days after the Shiv Sena’s flip-flop in Parliament when the party first refused to back the Narendra Modi-led government in the Lok Sabha by abstaining from the no-confidence vote and later supported the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) during the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman’s election.

Since Modi became Prime Minister, Sena leaders have publicly compared the current NDA regime to the one under former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, pointing out how the former NDA government gave more respect and space to allies.

Thackeray repeated himself in his condolence message for Vajpayee  Thursday. “The NDA stayed strong because of Atalji’s stance of taking everyone along. In Atalji’s demise, parliamentary democracy and the country have lost a lot….” he said.


Also read: Shiv Sena sends a firm message to ally BJP through its Parliament flip-flop


Despite being a part of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre and being a part of the BJP-led Maharashtra government, the Sena has openly played the role of an opposition party while being seated on the treasury benches. Relations between the two parties have worsened since the 2014 Maharashtra assembly polls when the allies ended their 25-year-old partnership due to disagreements over seat sharing and contested independently.

Later, they came together in a post-poll alliance, but the numbers forced a role reversal — big brother Shiv Sena was reduced to being the junior partner. Since then, the party has consistently attempted to stamp its individual identity separate from the BJP.

BJP’s consistent attempts to woo Sena

But the occasion of Vajpayee’s funeral was not the first time that a senior BJP leader went out of his way to make the Shiv Sena comfortable, despite the latter’s constant barbs at the government of which it is a constituent.

The Shiv Sena, which has on a number of occasions accused the BJP of pursuing an agenda to demolish regional parties, has resolved to contest 2019 elections on its own strength.

However, faced with the possibility of battling a Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra in the 2019 assembly polls, the BJP has been making repeated overtures to get the party on board for an alliance. In June, Shah had visited Thackeray’s residence in Mumbai and had a one-on-one meeting with the Sena chief. The meeting was seen as the first concrete dialogue between the party chiefs regarding the 2019 polls.


Also read: Here is why BJP govt of Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra has faced so many protests


Earlier this year, at an award function organised by media house Lokmat, Fadnavis expressed confidence that the Sena would ally with the BJP for the elections. The interview was conducted by Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and the executive editor of its mouthpiece, Saamana.

Before that, Fadnavis and BJP president Amit Shah — speaking at the BJP’s foundation day function in Mumbai on 6 April, hinted at the party’s eagerness to continue having the Shiv Sena as its partner. Shah said: “It is our heartiest wish that Sena stays with us.”

Fadnavis, speaking at a ground full of BJP workers, had also invoked Bal Thackeray, calling him an “inspiration” to all Hindus and a person who, with the BJP, raised the consciousness of Maharashtra.