On Tuesday, Saamna, the party organ, sought to praise Mr. Modi for asserting the cultural identity of Hindus.

With the newly elected BJP MLAs set to elect their leader paving way for formation of a new government in the state, an over-anxious Shiv Sena, which wants to return to the BJP fold as a partner in the new regime, is tying itself in knots on how to go about it.

Haughtiness of its leader Uddhav Thackeray has made the task even more complicated. Barring a courtesy call to the BJP President Amit Shah on the night election results were out, he has done precious little to reach out to the BJP in concrete terms.

The Sena mouth-piece which initially mocked at the so-called `Modi wave' has been attempting a course-correction but it is being nullified by reckless statements of some of senior party leaders. For instance on Monday a senior leader had gone to the extent of saying that if Mr. Modi can engage to the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif why can't Sena and BJP talk.

“Modi has decided to change the cultural face of this nation and as a result events like Diwali-milan are taking place in Delhi. This is a positive sign” ”

On Tuesday, Saamna, the party organ, sought to praise Mr. Modi for asserting the cultural identity of Hindus. "Modi has decided to change the cultural face of this nation and as a result events like Diwali-milan are taking place in Delhi. This is a positive sign”.

It contended that Hindu community is excited that the Prime Minister himself is celebrating festivals like Diwali and Dussehra. “That is the reason why we are praising Mr. Modi,” said an editorial, adding that this year the political Iftar parties were deserted. “This is an important change,” it said.

Ironically, it was the party president Uddhav Thackeray who had launched a bitter attack against the BJP. He had even called the BJP leaders as the forces of mughal worrior Afzal Khan, who had attacked Maharashtra at the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji. In an interview to Saamna, Mr. Thackeray had said that if a tea-seller can become prime minister, why can’t I become chief minister?

Praising Mr. Modi for his actions to improve the condition of poor in this country, the editorial said that such schemes should be prioritized.

“Congress used to celebrate Iftar as if it was a national festival. It was more about vote bank politics than actual love for Muslims. This vote bank politics is over because of Mr. Modi ”

“Congress used to celebrate Iftar as if it was a national festival. It was more about vote bank politics than actual love for Muslims. This vote bank politics is over because of Mr. Modi,” the editorial said.

FAQ on the BJP-Sena split

Maharashtra went to the polls on October 15, 2014. For the first time in two decades, it witnessed a five-cornered contest as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena ended their 25-year alliance (and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress their 15-year coalition) and with Maharashtra Navanirman Sena also being in the fray. On October 19 the results of the Maharashtra bypolls were announced and the BJP won in a simple majority with 123 seats while the Shiv Sena won 63.