Mumbai, Oct 08: Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde has emerged as the "peacemaker" between saffron allies Shiv Sena and BJP, whose 22-year-old alliance had come on the verge of collapse last week over their stance on the Chimur issue.
Ties between the opposition alliance partners in Maharashtra had reached a flashpoint with both Sena and BJP staking a claim on the Chimur seat, where assembly by-election
has been necessitated after a Sena MLA quit the seat and the party and joined Congress.
"Munde has ably performed Pramod Mahajan's role as a troubleshooter," Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' said, giving its stamp of approval for Munde playing the role of his late brother-in-law.
"Mahajan used to rush in and sort out any conflict issues in the alliance. Now, Munde has done the same," it said.
"It looked as if the alliance would snap. The role played by Munde in this crisis was very mature. He said such an old alliance should not break over such a minor issue," the paper said.
The resolution of the Chimur deadlock has strengthened Munde's position in Maharashtra BJP, where the Mahajan-Munde duo reigned supreme during the last two decades.
Incidentally, while the Sena reserved bouquets for Munde, state BJP president Nitin Gadkari was singled out as the "culprit" for the Chimur crisis.
"Gadkari is the murderer of the alliance," 'Saamna' had said after Sena leaders, in a late night meeting with party supremo Bal Thackeray on October 04, demanded that they call off its alliance with BJP as it was "claiming a Sena seat".
Bureau Report
