Uddhav Thackeray, the head of the Shiv Sena, is receiving much attention today from the BJP, which wants to reassure him that their 25-year-old alliance is a priority and not in danger. The Sena chief is smarting over the BJP's recent expression of interest in his estranged cousin, Raj Thackeray, who heads the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or MNS. Without joining the BJP's alliance of five parties in Maharashtra, Raj Thackeray has agreed to back the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.