Prime Minister Narendra Modi has played the Bal Thackeray card to a nicety by saying that he had immense respect for the late Shiv Sena chief. The move coming close on the heels of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena parting ways over the seat-sharing arrangement in Maharashtra could help heal sore wounds.
Besides, the statement is also seen as a ploy to stitch together an alliance with the Shiv Sena after the Assembly elections. The BJP and Shiv Sena shared a long association before the split and it is imperative that they reach a understanding to jointly take on the might of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). A Modi wave in Maharashtra and Haryana on the lines of the Lok Sabha polls could leave its main rivals flabbergasted.
N J Ravi Chander Bangalore
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