Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a ‘protocol encounter’ with Uddhav Thackeray for the first time after the Shiv Sena became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, late on Friday in Pune.

The PM was welcomed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari, CM Uddhav Thackeray and the Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, who is here to attend the three-day national conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of police being held at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). Earlier it was held in New Delhi, but since the past few years it is being held in different cities around the country. The Ministry of Home Affairs has organized the event.

Advertisement

The two political bigwigs met for the first time after the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena snapped their decades old ties and went their separate ways last month. Thackeray specially went from Mumbai to Pune to receive and welcome Modi as a state protocol gesture, and the two were together for barely a few minutes.

The one month long political drama which took place in Maharashtra soon after the announcement of the Assembly poll results, popped up many twists and turns in the course of the journey, which saw long term allies BJP and Shiv Sena parting ways on the question of equal partnership in the government and 2.5 years each rotational chief ministership for each party. The Sena formed alliance with NCP and Congress and was finalizing the modalities of the new government, but suddenly in a midnight coup Devendra Fadnavis became the CM with the help of Ajit Pawar from NCP, and becoming his deputy with the promise of 54 NCP MLAs. But with Supreme Court asking for a an open ballot floor test within 24 hours to prove the majority, Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar resigned within 80 hours. This made way for the new Maha Vikas Aghadi government, an alliance of NCP-Shiv Sena-Congress with Uddhav Thackeray as the Chief Minister.

Earlier, on November 28, PM Modi was among the earliests to congratulate Thackeray on his being sworn-in as the Chief Minister and the Shiv Sena chief had reciprocated promptly.

“Congratulations to Uddhav Thackeray-ji on taking oath as the CM of Maharashtra. I am confident that he will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra,” Modi had said in a tweet.

Thackeray tweeted back: “Thank you Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji for your kind wishes. With you as my big brother in the Centre and with a strong cabinet in the state, I am looking forward to working persistently, to build a new Maharashtra.”