Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose staunch opposition on Wednesday led to Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali's concert being cancelled, found himself in an awkward situation hours later, with his name missing from the official list of dignitaries attending the October 11 events in which prime minister Narendra Modi is the chief guest.
The list was released by the social justice and special assistance minister Rajkumar Badole on Wednesday at BJP office in Nariman Point when Thackeray was seeking to derail Ali's concert.
The list comprises union minister for urban development Venkaiah Naidu, union minister for surface transport Nitin Gadkari, union minister for social justice Thavar Chand Gehlot and union minister of state for textiles Santosh Gangwar, along with Maharashtra chief minister, ministers, MPs, MLAs and Mumbai mayor.
Sena claimed Thackeray would be out of the city on Sunday. "He would be visiting drought-affected Beed on Sunday," said Harshal Pradhan, Sena leader. "And anyway, the MMRDA is yet to send out the official invites to the guests."
Observers say the move could be BJP's strategy to keep Sena out from taking any credit for the Ambedkar memorial. They reasoned that the bitterness between the ruling allies was the prime reason behind Uddhav's omission, at least for now.
"Sena has been continuously targeting the BJP openly and through its mouthpiece Saamna. It has not even spared Fadnavis and Modi. Even its social media activists are criticising BJP policies and leaders. The BJP could be reciprocating with such tactics," said an observer.
This is not the first time that Thackeray's name has been omitted from such a high-profile event in the city. During the oath-taking ceremony of the Fadnavis government last October, Uddhav was not invited initially. A last-minute "phone call" had then got Uddhav to attend the programme.
While MMRDA officials were unreachable for comment, Sena leaders said they won't be surprised if Uddhav gets "a last-minute call" this time too.
Politics, not protocol?
BJP leaders say Thackeray could be invited to Indu Mills but not at the MMRDA ground as, according to the protocol, party leaders aren't allowed to share the dais with the PM or CM in an official event. Analysts, however, reject the logic. Thackeray had, in the past, attended the oath-taking ceremony of Modi as Gujarat CM in 2012 and the protocol issue was managed by adding a "parallel stage" near the dais. "Uddhav not only attends major functions of the BMC, which are attended by the mayor, but also inaugurates a few of them. So, protocol is not a hurdle, but an excuse," said an official.
