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'Sanjay Joshi the sacrificial lamb'

The national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party, held in Mumbai, has made it amply clear that no important decisions can be taken in the party by sidelining Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said on Saturday.

Thackeray's hard-hitting comments about the goings-on in his party's old ally came in an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

"Modi's consent had to be obtained to pave way for Nitin Gadkari's second term as BJP chief and for that, Sanjay Joshi had to be made the sacrificial lamb," Thackeray said.

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'Several new heroes have stepped forward'

"The BJP had to accept Modi's condition that Joshi had to be shown the door if it wanted the Gujarat chief minister to attend the meeting," the Sena chief said.

So far, the only claimant in BJP for the prime minister's post was senior leader L K Advani, Thackeray said.

"In the new script, several new heroes have stepped forward from the wings. Media says that besides Advani, the list now includes Gadkari, Modi, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley," he said.

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'Yeddyurappa a human bomb'

Everybody should keep personal ambitions aside and strive for victory in the next Lok Sabha elections, he said.

"Are senior leaders like Advani observing the goings-on in the party in a neutral manner or are they maintaining a distance deliberately," he questioned.

The Sena chief also suggested that efforts should be made to bring in old allies like Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalitha and Naveen Patnaik back into the National Democratic Alliance's fold.

Thackeray also described former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa as a "human bomb" within BJP, adding that Gadkari would always have to bear in mind that his path is "paved with landmines".

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