Change of plans, Amit to meet Uddhav

Shah is now in Mumbai, his first visit since taking charge of BJP. He is scheduled to meet state party workers, after attending a lunch hosted by BJP MP Poonam Mahajan, daughter of deceased BJP leader, Pramod Mahajan.

The meeting is being held taking into account the upcoming Assembly elections due later this year.

Media sources have revealed that Shah will meet Uddhav later in the evening, a development that was seen remote even a day ago.

BJP chief had shown no sign to meet Sena chief on Wednesday.

Disgruntled by the snub from long-time ally BJP, Sena announced that Thackeray would address the press on the party's "vision document" on Thursday afternoon, at about the same time as Shah's meeting with BJP workers.

Political analysts say, this announcement rang the alarm-bell in BJP quarters.

The party think-tank decided not to go in confrontation with Sena now, especially with the elections knocking the door.

According to media sources, the long-time allies spoke on the phone on Thursday morning and pulled back from a bitter confrontation over seat-sharing for the upcoming Maharashtra polls.

After which, Amit Shah reportedly made a last-minute change of plan to accommodate Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in his Mumbai sojourn.

The political bitterness between the two grand allies of NDA came to the forefront after Narendra Modi-led BJP swept the General Elections early this year.

The alliance won 42 of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats, reducing the Nationalist Congress Party to four and the Congress to two seats.

In the 2009 state polls, the Sena contested 169 of 288 seats while the BJP was given 119 seats.

But now riding on “Modi-wave” BJP wants the bigger share.

Not only that, confrontation also arose with Sena chief eyeing the Chief Minister’s post and the BJP denying it.