The Hindu : National : Thackeray disappoints BJP

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Wednesday, Jun 23, 2004

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National

Thackeray disappoints BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

The former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, inaugurating the BJP's national executive meeting at Powai in Mumbai on Tuesday. The former Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Maharashtra BJP leader, Gopinath Munde and the party president, Venkaiah Naidu, are also seen. — Photo: Vivek Bendre

MUMBAI, JUNE 22. The Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, did not attend the dinner hosted here tonight by the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In a statement here, he made it clear that it would not be possible to discuss political issues here, that he would meet Mr. Vajpayee later, and, if necessary, travel to New Delhi for this purpose. He said his representatives would attend the dinner.

On Monday, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders had announced that a group of four to five Sena leaders, including Mr. Thackeray, would be meeting Mr. Vajpayee and the Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, over dinner. Some senior BJP leaders, including the party president, Venkaiah Naidu, the general secretary, Pramod Mahajan, and the Maharashtra BJP chief, Gopinath Munde, would also attend, they said.

Mr. Thackeray's statement made to a television news channel triggered a wave of disappointment in the BJP ranks as the dinner meeting was projected by them yesterday as indicative of the renewed vigour with which the BJP-Sena alliance would work in the coming Assembly elections in the State to oust the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition. In his welcome speech at the national executive today, Mr. Munde said he hoped that the next time the executive committee was held here the party would have its own Government in Maharashtra in alliance with the Sena.

Sena leaders have on an earlier occasion also blamed the BJP for going soft on its Hindutva ideology and they said this was one of the major factors that led to the defeat of the National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha elections.

A senior BJP leader said that at first the plan was for Mr. Thackeray to be brought into the hall where the national executive committee meeting is taking place, and then allow a "photo-op" to television and still cameramen before leaving for the politics-over-dinner evening. Apparently, Mr. Thackeray's response was a firm "no" to coming to the meeting venue, and still later, it was also a "no" to dinner. The BJP leaders here had no credible explanation for the party announcing the dinner meeting before getting a firm "yes" from Mr. Thackeray. In Mumbai it was also being said that the Sena chief almost never leaves Matoshree, his residence. Mr. Advani also did not attend the dinner as he had to participate in a local wedding.

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