Uddhav calls team Modi as Afzal's army: Is Sena chief getting jittery ahead of polls?

Ever since it broke away with BJP, the Shiv Sena, it seems, has declared an all out war against its 25-year-old ally. Instead of reaching out to the people taking its agenda and vision, Shiv Sena leaders are busy in taking potshots at BJP leaders including PM Narendra Modi.

This even as PM Modi has made it clear that he won't attack Shiv Sena as a mark of respect for Bal Thackeray.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has recently doubted the popularity of the "Modi wave" in Maharashtra while attacking its former ally BJP.

Uddhav questions Modi wave

Uddhav questioned the rationale behind many rallies planned by BJP in Maharashtra, to be addressed by PM Narendra Modi.

"The BJP says there is a 'Modi wave' in the State. If that's the case, why has it planned so many rallies for him?

Uddhav equates Team Modi with Afzal Khan's army

Escalating his attack on Prime Minister and the BJP, Uddhav called Modi and the BJP leaders an 'army of Afzal Khan.'

Addressing a rally in Tuljapur in Osmanabad district, Uddhav equated Modi and his Central Ministers with the army of Bijapur general Afzal Khan. He urged voters to ensure the defeat of the BJP which, he said, was "conspiring to break the State."

Afzal Khan was a chieftain of the Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur. He came to Maharashtra in 1659 with the aim of defeating Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Such developments are not new, Uddhav Thackeray has put question on 'Modi wave' even before the split. In a TV interview, Uddhav said, "Was the Modi wave felt in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal? It depends on alliance partners as well. Modi is Prime Minister of our alliance."

Is Sena losing ground to BJP?

Speaking on the Sena's rhetoric on BJP, senior party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the party has lost the battle ahead of the October 15 elections.

"Sena has lost track and is talking only about BJP," said Rudy, BJP's Maharashtra affairs in-charge, adding that the party must have assessed that they are losing ground to BJP very heavily.

Rudy said, "If they (Sena) are contesting to win the elections, then they should be contesting against Congress and NCP. But if they are talking about BJP, it possibly shows that they have lost the battle," Rudy said.

"It is amusing that Sena is not fighting the actual enemies of the state. And they say we have betrayed them. How does it matter? You were claiming to be a larger partner and more powerful. Why should you complain?" he said.

As per various pre-poll surveys, BJP will emerge out at a single largest party in the State, this has sent the Shiv Sena into jittery, which is aiming to clean sweep the upcoming polls. So, in spite of targeting the previous Congress-NCP regime, the Shiv Sena is doing all its bits to tarnish BJP's image ahead of the polls.

The IndiaTV-C Voter pre-poll survey projected, "BJP as the single largest party in the 288-seat assembly with 93 seats, followed by estranged ally Shiv Sena with 59 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party is projected to win 47 seats, followed by former ally Congress with 40 seats.