Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday expressed hope that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena will find a way to establish their alliance for the upcoming elections. Fadnavis was speaking at a programme held to recall memories of Sena founder Bal Thackeray at the YB Chavan Centre. “It is due to the alliance in 1995 that we have come such a long way. Whenever there were issues in the alliance, Balasaheb used to take decisions with a big heart. Now, the responsibility of the alliance is on us and we will figure out a way,” said Fadnavis in response to a question asked by moderater Sudhir Gadgil on how the Sena-BJP alliance looks now in comparison to at its inception. “Balasaheb never just gave a speech. He used to communicate with people. He used to speak his mind. The people used to feel that he was speaking to them,” he said, responding to question on Thackeray’s oratory. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Thackeray was always firm about his opinions. “During the Emergency, there was anger among the people against Indira Gandhi but he took a stand saying she was attempting to bring in discipline in the country,” said Pawar. “When he heard that Supriya’s (Sule) name was being discussed for the Rajya Sabha seat, he called me to say that Sena-BJP will not field any candidate against her. Supriya was elected unopposed. Now, in politics, nobody allows anyone to go to Parliament unopposed,” recalled Pawar explaining how their friendship went beyond the politics. Talking of a joint venture between him and the founder of the Sena, Pawar said they had decided to launch a magazine of international standards in Maharashtra. “It was named Rajneeti. We had collected a total of Rs 15,000 for it. A person suggested that all three of us (Balasaheb, me and another person) should present the first copy of the magazine to Lord Siddhivinayak claiming that its sales would be huge. After we offered the first copy, there was no edition of the magazine again,” said the NCP chief. Actor Sanjay Dutt said he had heard of Bal Thackeray first time from his mother. “When my mother went to the US for treatment, she told me that if I need anything in life, I should approach Balasaheb,” said Dutt. “In my time at Arthur road jail, I used to be conveyed his message everyday saying ‘Sanjay, fikar mat kar’.” Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena MP and producer of a new movie on Thackeray, said that the movie is an attempt to tell younger people about Thackeray. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray along with wife Rashmi and son Aaditya, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, cricketer Sunil Gawaskar and others were present at the event.
