A surprising sequence of political gestures on Sunday has sparked intense speculation in Maharashtra's political circles. While Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray visited Matoshree to personally wish Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on his birthday, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah made headlines by calling UBT MP Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar from Hingoli to extend birthday wishes while notably skipping a similar gesture to Uddhav Thackeray himself.
The call from Shah to Patil-Ashtikar, whose birthday coincided with Uddhav Thackeray's, was confirmed by the MP, who said Shah not only wished him warmly but also inquired about his age. Patil-Ashtikar told the media that he informed the Home Minister he was celebrating his 54th birthday and expressed gratitude for the call. What followed was the rapid circulation of an audio clip of the conversation on social media, further fueling political chatter.
The fact that Amit Shah extended greetings to a UBT MP but chose not to contact Uddhav Thackeray has raised eyebrows and rekindled discussions about the BJP’s alleged "Operation Lotus" a term used to describe the party’s strategy of engineering defections to strengthen its numbers. The context has added more intrigue.
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Post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance performed strongly in Maharashtra, securing 31 seats, including 9 won by Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs. Patil-Ashtikar was among them, defeating Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s candidate Bapurao Kadam Kohlikar by a significant margin in Hingoli. With ongoing murmurs that some UBT MPs may be in contact with BJP leaders such as Eknath Shinde or Girish Mahajan, Shah’s outreach to Patil-Ashtikar has further fueled talk that the BJP is still actively pursuing its “Operation Lotus” in Maharashtra.
Political analysts see Shah’s selective birthday call as a calculated move, possibly hinting at future realignments. Whether it was a mere courtesy or a subtle political signal remains to be seen but for now, it has certainly stirred the pot.
