Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to further strengthen ties with the Shiv Sena, which has vehemently opposed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to have a Congress-mukta opposition. Sources in the Congress said that plans are afoot to have Gandhi meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, preferably at the latter’s residence, next week. There is also a proposal to invite Gandhi to the Congress Foundation Day ceremony on December 28.

Bonhomie on display

The Congress-Sena bonhomie was on display in the wake of Mamata’s outburst against Gandhi and the Congress in Mumbai. Sena MP Sanjay Raut met Rahul and his sister Priyanka early this week. Before meeting the Gandhi siblings, Raut had made it clear, through his editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna and public statements, that no united and strong opposition front was possible without the Congress, which also is the mainstay of the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.