Nationalist Congress Party president and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar met Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at the latter’s residence in suburban Bandra on Sunday.
The meeting at ‘Matoshree,’ held apparently to discuss the Sena’s opposition to inclusion of Pakistani and Australian players in the IPL, has created ripples in the State political circles, as both NCP and the Sena are in an uneasy partnership with their respective allies — the Congress and the BJP.
Mr. Pawar was accompanied by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.
While Mr. Pawar has come under flak from Congress leaders over price rise, Sena is opposed to a separate Vidarbha State, the demand backed by its ally BJP.
It may be too early to term the meeting between the two leaders as the beginning of a possible political realignment in the State, but it is sure to upset their allies. “The meeting, in many ways, sent a signal that neither the Congress nor the BJP can take their allies for granted,” a senior NCP leader said.
