The Sena's U-turn followed a visit by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Sunday night, ostensibly to request him to withdraw his threat against Australian cricketers playing in the Indian Premier League.
Thackeray -- who had been left smarting after Rahul Gandhi boarded a local train in Mumbai, and was further isolated over the confrontation with Shah Rukh -- seems to have got a boost from Pawar's visit. Political observers were quick to point out that Pawar himself has been at the receiving end from the Congress over soaring food prices.
