Narendra Modi meets Uddhav Thackeray who attacked him, then backtracked

Mumbai: Narendra Modi  met Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray at his home Matoshree in Mumbai today. Mr Thackeray had attacked him in two back-to-back editorials and later said his intent was to offer "constructive criticism" to the Gujarat Chief Minister.

Mr Thackeray, in his party's newspaper this week - ran Mr Modi down on two fronts.  He chided the chief minister for choosing only Gujaratis as the beneficiary of a recent rescue mission in Uttarakhand, where thousands have been stranded by flash floods. Mr Thackeray also suggested that by making Mr Modi its campaign chief, his party, the BJP, has greatly limited its options for political alliances.

Mr Modi's lofty new role cost the bJP its biggest partner, the regional super-power from Bihar, the  Janata Dal United or JDU. Now, Mr Thackeray's Shiv Sena is the second-largest member of the main opposition coalition, the National Democratic Alliance or NDA.The enervated NDA, Mr Thackeray sarcastically observed in an article on Monday, has just about enough members for a cosy tea party.

The BJP has said repeatedly that its decision to make Mr Modi its campaign chief does not mean he will be its prime ministerial candidate.  The Sena has warned that the NDA must collectively decide on who it will pick as its contender for the country's top job.  In the past, the Sena has backed another senior BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, over Mr Modi.

Advertisement

Mr Modi is vastly popular among party-workers and has given the BJP an impressive fourth consecutive term in power.  But he is seen by many as too divisive a leader to help the opposition make a comeback to power after 10 years.  The fact that he was at the helm in Gujarat when hundreds of Muslims were killed in 2002 makes him unacceptable to parties that rely heavily on Muslim support.

Advertisement