Allies Shiv Sena and JD(U) are sulking as they are yet to get a call from Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept everyone in suspense over the reshuffle and NDA allies like the JD(U) and the Shiv Sena did not receive calls from Delhi asking them to nominate faces that could be inducted in the Cabinet.

Nitish Kumar is particularly upset as he has not even been consulted as the media speculated that two JD(U) MPs could be joining the government. He told reporters in Patna that he has not been asked to give any names.

The Shiv Sena, too, is feeling slighted since till late in the evening, there were no calls for Uddhav Thackeray from either BJP chief Amit Shah, who is coordinating the reshuffle, or Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those who would be included in the government have been called for tea on the morning of Sunday, but Sena sources said no one from the party would attend.

When asked on the matter on Saturday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray responded, “Today everyone is busy with the Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre. However, we are only busy ensuring the health of Mumbai citizens after the deluge earlier this week.”

Thackeray said the party’s ideology for the last 50 years has been 80 per cent social work and 20 per cent politics. “I have got news about Cabinet reshuffle only from the media. I have not enquired about it from the BJP leadership. We are not hungry for power,” Uddhav Thackeray added.

Amit Shah had met Thackeray at his residence in June, just before the presidential polls and the meeting lasted for 75 minutes. It then seemed that the strained relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP was a thing of the past. But with the latest development on the Cabinet reshuffle front, that tension is out in the open.