Shiv Sena praises AAP, criticises Modi

For the first time on Monday, the Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ departed from its usual crass caustic barbs and instead employed quiet criticism of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by praising the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its scintillating debut.

Without snubbing overtly, the editorial, while saying that the BJP’s win is no doubt a step towards a “revolution, but the bashing the Congress got and the massive AAP wave in Delhi reveals how weak the base is of the 150-year-old Congress.” “The results in the four states clearly shows that one should start preparing for the demise of the Congress. It was evident during campaigning when people used to walk out of the rallies addressed by Rahul Gandhi.

“Look at the victory of a young person like Kejriwal who managed to ward off challenges from established parties like the Congress and BJP leader Modi. Kejriwal’s win is not a flash in the pan but it is a sign which warns that established political parties should look inward honestly,” it added.

While summing up, the editorial again hurled a very subtle barb at Modi stating, “The BJP may have won but then it is time for them to introspect as to what went wrong in Chhattisgarh where they won by a whisker, and of course the win in Madhya Pradesh is purely because of the work done by Shivraj Singh Chouhan.”