By IANS
New Delhi : In an effort to mend their ties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday reinforced its long-standing alliance with the Shiv Sena but denied that it was because of the prospect of an early general election.
Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani Tuesday hosted lunch for Shiv Sena executive president Udhav Thackeray in the capital. Also present were former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi, BJP president Rajnath Singh, party general secretary and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde and some other senior party leaders.
The relations between the two partners had grown tense in the last two months when the Shiv Sena defied the BJP diktat and decided to support Pratibha Patil against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the recent presidential election.
The BJP had even threatened to review its ties with the Sena.
But after the BJP felt that the general election could be advanced, it decided to mend fences with its existing allies and even look for some new ones.
Advani’s lunch to Udhav held special significance in this background.
On his part, Udhav also welcomed the BJP overtures and reiterated the old camaraderie that has existed between the two saffron parties. Udhav, son of Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, speaking briefly to journalists waiting outside Advani’s residence said that the BJP and Shiv Sena would continue their alliance.
Udhav’s response was encouraging for the BJP as its leaders have not yet succeeded in striking a common chord with political heir apparent of senior Thackeray ever since Udhav assumed charge of the Sena.
He, however, dismissed suggestions that the relations are being revived in view of early elections.
Udhav said: “There are many speculations but there is nothing certain that has been announced about elections. We have not come together just because of elections.”
Advani had earlier urged the Maharashtra BJP leaders to forget their differences and forge an alliance with the Sena.