In a family, brothers also fight, says BJP state chief on Shiv Sena's advertisement row

Chandrashekhar Bawankule. File Pic

Days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena came under fire after a front-page newspaper advertisement that featured Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, but not his deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said that in a family, brothers can also have differences and fights, reported news agency ANI.

"In a family, two brothers also fight. So, differences might occur. Now that the advertisement has come and everything is clear, I think we should close this matter," Chandrashekhar Bawankule told news agency ANI.

On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena over the advertisement featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. the BJP-Shiv Sena government has released an advertisement featuring both leaders.

He stated that the poster didn't feature Shiv Sena's stalwarts like Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe.

"Till date, in my political career, I have not seen this kind of advertisement which I saw in today's newspapers. PM Narendra Modi and CM Shinde's photos were there in the advertisement," Pawar had said.

He added, "They (Shiv Sena) say that they are the soldiers of Balasaheb Thackeray, whereas Balasaheb Thackeray's and Anand Dighe's photos were missing from the advertisement."

BJP member Praveen Darekar said that the Sena's ad "was not right", while Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Sena alleged Shinde's camp had forgotten Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

A day after an advertisement with photos of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Prime Minister Narendra Modi became a talking point, an ad on the state's ruling alliance appeared in Marathi dailies on Wednesday featuring leaders like Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Full-page advertisements were carried across major newspapers in the state on Tuesday, citing a survey that showed CM Shinde ahead of his deputy Fadnavis in popularity. It did not have the pictures of either Fadnavis or Bal Thackeray.

The publicity material titled 'Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra' on Tuesday prompted the Opposition to claim that all was not well between the ruling BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)