The Congress appeared to have mended its fences with Maharashtra ally Uddhav Thackeray, who was hugely upset over Rahul Gandhi’s comments about VD Savarkar. Senior leader of Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena faction, Sanjay Raut said Mr Gandhi has dialled Mr Thackeray and the differences are all in the past.

“We have talked to Rahul Gandhi. Our fight is not with Savarkar but with Modi ji,” Mr Raut told reporters.

The things that have been said in the meeting — the things that have been said, are good things. Let our unity remain intact. I think it is going well,” he added, alluding to last evening’s dinner meet at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s home.

Mr Thackeray had pulled out of the meet, saying Mr Gandhi’s comments against Savarkar could drive a wedge in their alliance in Maharashtra.

Thereafter, the 17 parties attending the meet had decided that no opposition leader would make comments on sensitive issues like Savarkar, sources had said. The Congress, they added, had indicated that it would take into account feelings of like-minded parties.

Mr Gandhi, who was present at the meet with his mother and former party chief Sonia Gandhi, had also addressed the assembled leaders, sources said.

Today the senior leader is writing to all political leaders who, in a rare gesture, stood by him and condemned his disqualification from Lok Sabha after the two-year jail term was handed to him by a court in Gujarat last week, sources added.

The Congress has announced a month- long protest over Mr Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP.

Mr Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison last week in a defamation case from 2019, over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. In the campaign ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Mr Gandhi had apparently said, “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?

The Gujarat court, which sentenced him to two years in jail, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence. On Friday, he was formally disqualified by Lok Sabha.