Buoyed by Narendra Modi's hat-trick in Gujarat, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Maharashtra plans to exploit the ‘NaMo’ factor during the parliamentary and state assembly elections slated for 2014.
Out of power since the 1999 assembly elections, they propose to project Narendra Modi as the star campaigner. They feel he has the ability and all the necessary leadership qualities to fill the vacuum created by the death of Shiv Sena founder-supremo Bal Thackeray.
Simultaneously, a section of both parties believe the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena can be convinced to join the Sena-BJP-Republican Party of India alliance to forge a ‘Maha Yuti’ (grand alliance) to avoid division of votes and properly encash the anti-incumbency mood on the Congress-NCP government's three-term rule. Insiders in the Sena and BJP argue Modi can help bring in Raj, due to the respect they share.
Subhash Desai, the Sena’s head in the state assembly, told Business Standard: “Our party will certainly like Narendra Modi to campaign for the Sena-BJP-RPI alliance and we will make a formal request to him. I must tell you that Balasaheb used to openly admire Narendra Modi for his aggressive style of functioning and his consistent views on Hindutva.”
During a Sena meetings, he said, Balasaheb had termed himself Maharashtra’s tiger and named Modi as Gujarat’s lion. “Balasaheb had predicted that both can do wonders in politics,” he said.
Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, son of the founder, has already announced the party would do its best to materialise Balasaheb’s dream of winning in 2014.
Vinod Tawade, BJP leader and head of the opposition in the state’s legislative council, said Modi would certainly play a crucial role in the party’s national campaign during 2014. “His government’s victory for a third term has raised hopes of party workers. We expect Narendrabhai to be one of the star campaigners in Maharashtra. Voters have wholeheartedly voted for his work and his resolve to take Gujarat to a new high. We will work out a comprehensive plan for Narendrabhai's meetings,” he said.
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The BJP has 47 members in the state assembly and is in the midst, Tawade said, of finalising an election strategy to increase its tally to at least 75 in 2014. “We are currently working out constituency-wise issues and various sections need to be brought to the party fold. We will make all efforts to defeat the Congress-NCP alliance,” he added.
On the MNS, Tawade said party national head Nitin Gadkari (whose political base is Maharashtra), Gopinath Munde (their former state legislature head and now deputy head of the party in the Lok Sabha) and he strongly felt this would help forge a formidable alliance to take on the Congress-NCP.