Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the “top leader of the country and his party,” according to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, speaking two days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited with Modi in Delhi to request his assistance on the Maratha quota problem.
The encounter reignited rumours of a reconciliation between the long-time allies, whose relationship had broken down in 2019 due to power-sharing squabbles following their Assembly election victory.
The Sena acted immediately to dispel the rumours, which had been circulating for some time. “It was not for political purposes,” stated ‘Saamna,’ the party’s spokesman. Thackeray added, “Just because we don’t agree on politics doesn’t mean our friendship is destroyed.”
“I don’t want to comment on this… I don’t go by the media reports. There is no official statement about this… The BJP owes its success to Narendra Modi in the last seven years and currently he is the top leader of the country and his party,” Mr Raut said.
Mr Raut’s praise came in reaction to speculation over the Prime Minister’s hold on voters and discussion that the RSS, the BJP’s ideological tutor, may now prefer local politicians as party faces for state polls. Mr Raut was among those most loud in his condemnation of the BJP during that aftermath.
The BJP has faced reverses in states, the most recent of which were in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, where it won the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections by riding on the PM’s image.
In each of the three elections, Prime Minister Modi was a major figure on the campaign trail, yet the BJP received zero seats in Kerala, four in Tamil Nadu, and 77 (out of a target of 200) in Bengal.
Local leaders and those attracted from the Trinamool and opposing parties have expressed dissatisfaction at being overlooked by out-of-state figures in the Bengal defeat, which has opened a box of worms.
And, with elections looming in Uttar Pradesh, a pivotal state for the 2024 election, concerns are being raised about previously uncontested campaign strategies.
The party’s purchase of ex-Congress politician Jitin Prasada, a powerful Brahmin figure in Uttar Pradesh, is a sign that it is ready to reset and focus on local rather than out-of-state candidates.
Mr Raut also snuck in a pointed reference to the Prime Minister on the campaign trail, suggesting that PM Modi “shouldn’t get involved in campaigning” as he “belongs to the entire country”.
“The Shiv Sena’s stand has always been a Prime Minister belongs to the country and not one party… Hence PM shouldn’t get involved in campaigning…,” he said.
Mr Raut was addressing to media in Jalgaon while on a visit of northern Maharashtra areas to expand the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s grassroots reach.
