NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: BJP’s estranged ally Shiv Sena on Friday sprung a surprise by abstaining from the vote on the no-confidence motion even as it remains a member of the NDA with representation in the central and Maharashtra governments.

Sena’s decision was perhaps the first instance of a member of a ruling alliance abstaining from proceedings during a no-trust vote and refusing to vote against an opposition motion.

Despite Sena leader Chandrakant Khaire issuing a whip, the Sena contingent was conspicuous by its absence on Friday morning. The development seemed to expose chinks in the Sena as Uddhav Thackeray sacked Khaire as whip. It was said Khaire issued the whip on Thursday without consulting Matoshree. The narrative emerging from the Sena was that Khaire had exceeded his brief, but such a possibility seemed unlikely in a closely controlled party.

The whip was in Hindi, saying Sena MPs in Lok Sabha should support the Modi government: ‘Samarthan dena chahiye’. It was claimed that the language had been provided by BJP and that Khaire should have consulted Thackeray. The claim could not be confirmed with Khaire.

The bitterness that has marked Sena-BJP relations was very much on display, indicating that the decision to abstain was not random. “Mujhe lagta hai ki Rahul Gandhi politics ke asli paathshala mein ja chuke hain (the Congress chief has now graduated from the real school of politics),” party leader Sanjay Raut said after Rahul Gandhi’s speech.

Raut said Rahul’s hug came as a shock to the PM. “Jis tarah se Modiji ko jadoo ki jhappi lagaayi, woh jhappi nahi thi jhatka tha (this wasn’t a hug, but a shock to Modi),” Raut said, adding that there would be more “tremors” like this for the BJP. The Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, also taunted BJP for winning elections through the use of unaccounted money, manipulated electronic machines and use of official machinery.

Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul said, “Our party leader Uddhav Thackeray decided to stay away from the voting as the no-confidence motion was Andhra Pradesh-specific and had nothing to do with Maharashtra.”

Senior BJP netas remained tight-lipped about the Sena decision, saying the partner remained in the coalition and had been in an aggressive mood since losing its claim to the Maharashtra CM’s office. “That is how it has been. If at all, it is for Sena to decide what it wants to do, not us,” said a leader.

Sena’s absention served to dampen the mood in the BJP camp to some extent after the party had gained the outright support of AIADMK. Sena, along with JD(U), continues to have a troubled relationship with BJP though the Bihar party offered its support without any strings attached.

