Rahul Gandhi can lead India: Shiv Sena

Mumbai: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s fan count in Maharashtra politics seems to be on the rise, with praise coming in from unexpected quarters. Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders, who in the past have not wasted any opportunity to ridicule the Congress leader, are now hailing him as the national leader who can pose a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut praised Rahul Gandhi on Thursday and said he is capable of leading the country. On the other hand, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is feeling threatened by Mr Gandhi in Gujarat.

In a television programme organised by a news channel, Mr Raut took a stand in favour of Mr Gandhi, lashing out at the Sena’s ally, the BJP. Commenting on the ongoing election campaign for the Gujarat Assembly polls, Mr Raut said, “Rahul has been conducting many rallies in Gujarat and has guts. He is capable of leading the country.”  He also said terming Mr Gandhi as “Pappu” is wrong. “The way he is communicating with the people shows that he can lead the country,” he added.

Mr Raj Thackeray expressed similar political views, criticising the BJP. “Earlier, BJP mocked Rahul Gandhi, termed him as ‘Pappu’ but now the party is scared of him,” he said in the same programme. The MNS chief, who was once a supporter of Mr Modi and the development in Gujarat, however, said he repented it. “The picture shown about Gujarat is not true. The Prime Minister should not make Gujarat a prestige issue,” he said.

Appreciating the praise for Mr Gandhi, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the two parties have now “realised the truth.”

“The truth is before all now. The people of the country knew about it but the Sena and MNS have accepted it now. There is no doubt that Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading and running the country. He has been working for the people, giving voices to their grievances. We are hopeful that the BJP’s face will change after the Gujarat election,” Mr Sawant said.

However, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari termed the comments by Sena and MNS as “old tactics.” “Sena’s love towards the Congress is not new. The two parties have shown proximity on several occasions. It is just anti-BJP feeling due to which the Sena has reacted in this manner,” he said.  

Troubled Past
Even though Shiv Sena is now praising Rahul Gandhi, the party has earlier held protests targeting Mr Gandhi personally. In fact, the last Sena agitation called by late party supremo Bal Thackeray was against Mr Gandhi in February 2010. Thackeray had asked his party workers to show black flags to Mr Gandhi, who was on a visit to Mumbai in connection with his remarks, “Mumbai for all Indians.”

Flashback
MNS chief Raj Thackeray in 2014 had praised the development in Gujarat after visiting the state as a state guest. He had extended his support to then Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for the Lok Sabha polls. However, he later said that he was “disillusioned.”