BJP's Rudy to meet Uddhav to soothe frayed nerves in Sena

Seeking to placate the Shiv Sena which is miffed over the recent thaw between Bharatiya Janata Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, party's Maharashtra in-charge Rajiv Pratap Rudy will on Tuesday meet Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai to reassure its ally and fine-tune the tie-up in the state.

Sources said BJP appointed party's general secretary Rudy to meet the Shiv Sena chief in Mumbai and remove misgivings that may have arisen after a meeting between former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Uddhav's estranged cousin.

Though the Shiv Sena has in its in-house journal 'Saamna' said the ties with BJP are intact and there is no discord between the two, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav has convened a meeting of his party's office bearers in Mumbai to chalk out their strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

BJP sources said Rudy will be meeting Uddhav at 7 pm in Mumbai to discuss the poll strategy and reassure him on the alliance.

Party insiders have indicated that the Gadkari-Raj meeting had pushed the BJP in a piquant situation over its relationship with Shiv Sena, considering the MNS is Sena's rival in Maharashtra.

“The meeting with Raj Thackeray was not taken in good taste and has strained ties with Shiv Sena, which is an old partner of the party in Maharashtra. There is no question of a tie-up with any other partner in the state as BJP values its alliance with Shiv Sena. The attempt of sending an emissary is to placate the Shiv Sena and fine tune the alliance," a senior BJP leader told PTI.

Ties between the two old allies were strained recently after Gadkari met Raj Thackeray to seek his support for BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and not to put up his party's candidates against the BJP in the state.

Following the meeting Raj Thackeray announced his backing for Modi, saying his party MPs will support Modi for the PM post post-elections.

Post Raj-Gadkari meeting, it was believed that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav was upset over its ally's overtures to the MNS, a political rival of the Shiv Sena in the state.

Image: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray