BIG: Uddhav Thackeray gives special alliance designation to Sharad Pawar on his Birthday

Maharashtra Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray greeted NCP chief Sharad Pawar on the occasion of his 79th birthday on Thursday. Thackeray described Pawar as the "guide" of the Maharashtra Vikas Agadhi, the front set up by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress to form government in the state last month. The chief minister, in a message posted on micro- blogging site Twitter, extend his good wishes to Pawar and prayed for his long and healthy life.

READ: NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar Turns 79, Here's How PM Modi Wished Him

Uddhav Thackeray wishes Sharad Pawar

"Happy Birthday to Maharashtra Development Alliance's guide and Nationalist Congress Party's National President Sharad Pawar. Wish you a Blessed and Healthy Life!" tweeted Thackeray.

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Uddhav Thackeray's tributes to Gopinath Munde

He also paid tributes to late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, whose birth anniversary is being observed on Thursday. The chief minister described Munde as a "people's leader and son of Marathawada". Munde died in June 2014 after his car met with a road accident in New Delhi. The late BJP veteran's daughter Pankaja Munde, who was a Cabinet minister in the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led state government, lost the October 21 Assembly election from Parli to her estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde of the NCP.

READ: Fadnavis Reveals 'Ajit Pawar Approached Us, Informing Sharad Pawar Of BJP-NCP Alliance'