Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena recently stayed away from the no-confidence motion
Uddhav Thackeray this morning received birthday tweets from both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi, even though the Shiv Sena chief is not on Twitter. In the season of elections and alliances, the tweets received more attention than usual.
Rahul Gandhi's early bird tweet sparked a buzz in Maharashtra and had the Sena in a flap. To many, it was no surprise after the Sena chief praised Rahul Gandhi for his act of hugging PM Modi during the no-confidence motion debate last Friday.
"Uddhavji gets birthday greetings from all over the country and outside. This time, he (Rahul Gandhi) has openly greeted him on Twitter," Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.
"Rahul Gandhi has greeted the head of another political party. Nothing more should be read into this," Maharashtra Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said.
Rahul Gandhi's tweet was liked by over 5,000 people and retweeted by 1,200 within moments.
Then came tweets from PM Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, both frequent targets of the Sena chief's no-holds barred criticism.
Mr Fadnavis kept it short: "Best wishes to Shiv Sena President Uddhavji Thackeray on his birthday."
Growing bitterness between the BJP and its oldest ally didn't stop the Prime Minister from wishing his sharp critic, Mr Thackeray, who has declared that his party will contest alone in 2019.
Last week, the Sena stayed away from the no-confidence motion even after BJP President Amit Shah phoned Mr Thackeray. A stung Amit Shah reportedly told the Maharashtra BJP at a meeting later to prepare to contest the polls alone. Sources say the BJP has still kept the door ajar for a possible patch-up, knowing that the consolidation of voters will be far more effective with the Sena on its side.
Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not forget the birthday of Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray
Earlier this week, in a three-part interview published in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana to mark his 58th birthday, Mr Thackeray had attacked the BJP on subjects ranging from mob lynchings by cow vigilantes, to corruption, Pakistan and elections.
The Sena has launched a new campaign "Chalo Ayodhya, Chalo Varanasi" as the party counters what Mr Thackeray termed "BJP's plans to exploit Ram temple issue in the 2019 elections".
Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee - who met the Sena chief last year - did not forget the date and wished "Uddhav Thackerayji a very happy birthday."
Ms Banerjee's outreach is not surprising as she makes efforts to bring together a multi-party front to take on the BJP in 2019. Earlier this week, Rahul Gandhi said that he was ready to accept anyone for the post of Prime Minister in order to keep the BJP out.