Guess who's coming to Vajpayee's dinner?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">MUMBAI: Going out of its way, the BJP has extended a special invitation to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray to have dinner with Vajpayee.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Although the ostensible reason is to discuss the BJP-Sena''s joint strategy for the assembly elections in Maharashtra, the real reason is that the BJP strategists want to endorse Thackeray''s post-electionHindutva stand and his anti-Muslim outbursts.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">This will send a "positive" message to the majority community and reassure it that the BJP has not forgotten Hindus, party sources told TNN here on Monday.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">The other objective of the dinner invitation is to keep the Sena chief in good humour so that he does not embarrass the BJP by his temperamental utterances on sensitive issues.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">This will be Thackeray''s first meeting with Vajpayee after the NDA lost the Lok Sabha elections. The invitation has come from Vajpayee. This is perhaps the first time the BJP has made a gesture of this kind to Thackeray, who refused to attend the BJP''s maha-adhiveshan held in Mumbai in 1996. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Ever since, BJP leaders and Thackeray have appeared together on public platforms but hardly any oneto-one meetings have taken place.</span></div> </div>