At ‘non-political event’,alliance partners’ show of solidarity

RPI chief Ramdas Athavale arrived early with his supporters and stayed for several hours. RPI activist and writer Arjun Dangle said,“This was not an occasion for display of strength. It had to be a quiet affair so we did not exhort our cadre to come out in force. However,people volunteered to offer tribute.”

BJP workers stayed away from the event. A senior general secretary said,“We don’t expect our cadres to be present unless it is a rally or a campaign. Today’s occasion was to pay tribute.”

However,the presence of a half a dozen top state BJP leaders was notable. Sources said,“All India BJP president Rajnath Singh and Gujarat CM Narendra Modi were busy with election campaigns and could not come.” BJP leader in charge of Maharashtra Rajiv Pratap Rudy represented the central BJP along with Gopinath Munde.

Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis,leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Vinod Tawde and other officials also paid tribute to the Sena leader.

Cong,NCP too mark presence

Sena rivals Congress and NCP ensured they turned up to pay tribute. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan could not attend the function as he was in Delhi. Senior cabinet minister Rajendra Darda,NCP president Sharad Pawar along with daughter Supriya Sule (MP) and party leader Chhagan Bhujbal were present.

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