Fadnavis's Hindu Card

The BJP Makes A Desperate Bid To Win Over The Sena—with Knives On The Ready

- Kiran D. Tare

At the BJP’s Foundation Day on April 6, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was, surprisingly, full of praise for the late Bal Thackeray. “He was not from our party but I have to mention his contribution in keeping Hindutva relevant,” he said. Four days on, Fadnavis again cited the Shiv Sena founder in a televised interview. “Whenever the socalled secular parties come together, Hindutvawadi parties should join hands. It was the thought of Balasaheb Thackeray,” he told Sanjay Raut, executive editor of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamna.

The tone and tenor of the chief minister’s words have turned markedly conciliatory since January, when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray announced that his party would go it alone in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls next year. Not only has the chief minister become more receptive to the grievances of Sena legislators, even the BJP’s national president seems to have toned down his anti-Sena rhetoric. “We want to fight the next election together,” Amit Shah told mediapersons in Mumbai on April 6.