Amid Shinde-Fadnavis Advertisement Row, BJP Says 'In A Family, Brothers Also Fight'

Mumbai: 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 Bawankulee on Thursday said that in a family. brothers can also have differences and fights.

Downplaying the incident, Bawankulee said, " 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," said Bawankulee. A front-page advertisement issued by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in newspapers across Maharashtra stoked a political controversy on Tuesday as it featured pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister, leaving out deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The advertisement claimed that a survey had revealed that more people in the state preferred Shinde for the CM's post than Fadnavis. Soon after the advertisement created waves in political circles, the BJP-Shiv Sena government has released an advertisement featuring both leaders.

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.