Senior Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha M.P. Sanjay Raut, who has upped the ante against ally BJP in recent times, asserted that it was not the Congress but the BJP which was the ‘first enemy’ of the Sena. To rub salt on the wounds of the BJP leaders and cadres, Raut has also praised the leadership qualities of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi which he said had developed a lot during the past three years.

Sena has been critical of its ally for the past 25 years, the BJP, in recent times and especially after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister in May, 2014 after the ‘Modi wave’ swept the BJP to power giving it simple majority of more than 300 seats in the 544-strong Lok Sabha. Sena’s official journal Saamna is regularly publishing articles criticizing the BJP in general and Modi in particular.

Raut said a few days back that the ‘Modi wave’ has disappeared in the country and added that Rahul Gandhi’s leadership qualities had improved quite a lot. Replying to Raut, Maharashtra chief-minister Devendra Padnavis said that it was totally unacceptable that the Sena had been highly critical of its ally BJP. “It is time for the Sena to decide whether it wants to remain the BJP’s ally or not,” he remarked.

In his latest BJP-baiting, Raut said that the Sena was the BJP’s ally only for ‘name-sake’ for the pasty many years. “We are only reflecting people’s thoughts and expressions. There has been a marked change in Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s speech and functioning in recent times. People listen to him attentively.  I should say that BJP is the ‘first enemy’ of both the Sena and the Congress,” he said.