Shiv Sena chooses Advani over Modi

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Saturday hit out at its ally the BJP and questioned why the party took so long to decide on senior leader LK Advani's Lok Sabha seat. "While Narendra Modi's era has begun, it does not mean that it is the end of Advani's era," party president Uddhav Thackeray said in an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"Advani's name should have been in the first list of BJP Lok Sabha candidates. However, this did not happen. One who built the party and showed it days of glory was kept waiting," Mr Thackeray added.

Targeting the further BJP, he said, "Why should the BJP take so long to decide on Advani constituency. Doing so is his insult."

On Thursday, after long hours of coaxing by top BJP leaders, Mr Advani agreed to run from Gandhinagar in Narendra Modi's Gujarat, though he had made it clear that he preferred Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

After showing much resistance, he was mollified by party leaders including Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi.

"Murli Manohar Joshi was asked to contest from Kanpur so that Modi could contest from Varanasi. Rajnath chose safe seat Lucknow instead of Ghaziabad. Jaitley was fielded from Amritsar by removing Navjot Sidhu from fray. Then why was there so much delay in Advani's case," the article in Saamna read.

"The relation that the veteran leader has with the masses is still intact. The Advani episode may seem trivial in comparison with the current political tribulations but one must keep in mind that big accidents can occur through such small incidents," the Sena leader said.

His sharp remarks come in the backdrop of a rift between the two parties after former BJP president Nitin Gadkari met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray, leading to the Sena launching a tirade against Mr Gadkari.