NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (NDTV) : With Arvind Kejriwal handing his party a near-perfect score in the Delhi election, top leaders from around the country were quick to congratulate him. Among them, Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena. It's not just that Mr Thackeray was effusive in his praise of Mr Kejriwal - Maharshtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was among those who acknowledged his incredible victory. But Mr Thackeray, whose party is an ally of the BJP, appropriated Mr Kejriwal's result for a pointed jab at the Prime Minister. "The people of Delhi have shown the might of a tsunami against a wave," said Mr Thackeray.

"The Modi wave" is used by the BJP as a summation of the Prime Minister's popularity. In the national election, the PM proved that wasn't wishful thinking - he led the BJP to the strongest election result in India in nearly 30 years.

Mr Kejriwal has rivalled that feat today. His Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is two years old, is likely to get 67 of 70 seats in the capital. Despite rallies by the Prime Minister and top union ministers and the deployment of 120 national law-makers to coordinate its campaign, the BJP is likely to get a scanty three seats.

Mr Thackeray's Shiv Sena partners with the BJP to govern Maharashtra; it is also a member of the PM's coalition government. Ahead of the Maharashtra election last year, the Sena and the BJP went through a nasty break-up. The BJP won first place in the election but not a majority. The Sena, which was runner-up, was made to sweat by BJP leaders before they allowed an alliance, which brought Mr Thackeray's party back to power after nearly 15 years spent in the opposition.