Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung, the chief protagonists of a bitter turf war in the national capital, were on Tuesday seated together in the VIP enclosure at Rajpath during the Republic Day parade.
Mr Kejriwal and Mr Jung have been involved in a protracted tussle over several issues since the AAP government assumed office in February last year, including the control of the Delhi police and the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and PWD minister Satyendar Jain were also present in one of the stands as military contingents, dance troupes and tableaux from various states rolled down the path.
Delhi, which had last showcased a tableau in the 2013 parade, did not have one this year too.
The Aam Aadmi Party had triggered a political controversy in 2015 by claiming that Mr Kejriwal, who had not been elected as the chief minister yet, had not been invited to attend the parade that had United States President Barack Obama as the chief guest.
Other top leaders like Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP president Amit Shah were seated in the same row, with a gap of two seats between the them. BJP patriarch L.K. Advani and his daughter Pratibha Advani sat close by as well.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur sat next to each other in the front row of the VIP enclosure.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi was seen cheering young artists from Orissa who performed the state's Sambalpuri folk dance.
