The five-party coalition the “Maha-Yuti” (mega alliance) is floundering in hot waters with the key constituent Shiv Sena spitting fire at its ally BJP by asking: “If Modi is great then people of Maharashtra will vote for him and nobody should be bothered about division of votes then.”
Gadkari, who is facing hostility from the senior party leader Gopinath Munde, met Raj Thackeray in a five star hotel on Monday; the meeting sparked off rumours which had been doing rounds in the past one month of BJP’s overtures to rope in MNS into its fold.
Jolted with the news and rumours, SS facing an internal crisis lashed out at its ally by calling Gadkari “ a businessman,” and questioned his political wisdom, stating: “ Gadkari's image in minds of Maharashtra is that of a businessman and his speciality is get things done without investing any capital or offering dakshina to MNS chief from whom he is seeking support.”
The editorial in its mouthpiece “Saamna” also subtly took a dig at its bete noire MNS chief Raj Thackeray caustically remarking: “ It is surprising that MNS has agreed to ink a deal Gadkari's plea without accepting any payment or any toll.”
Talking to reporters here Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray late Wednesday evening stated: “ As far as I know in BJP decisions for Maharashtra are taken by Gopinath Munde and not anybody else and that closes the matter. And BJP leaders are well aware of our policies vis-a-vis Raj Thackeray or NCP chief Sharad Pawar.”
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