Several BJP ministers in Maharashtra have stated earlier that an alliance with the Shiv Sena is needed to keep anti-Hindutva forces at bay.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Monday countered the Shiv Sena’s claim of being “the big brother” in the Sena-BJP alliance, saying his party is not seeking a tie-up desperately.
He was speaking at the valedictory event of a day-long meeting of the state working committee of the BJP in Jalna.
“BJP does want an alliance with the Shiv Sena but we are not desperate for it. We want the alliance as custodians of Hindutva and a strong force against corruption,” he said.
Several BJP ministers in the state have stated earlier that an alliance with the Shiv Sena, which has often been critical of the BJP-led government, is needed to keep anti-Hindutva forces at bay.
The Sena had said last January that it would go it alone in all future elections.
Earlier Monday, Sena’s chief whip in Parliament and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said his party is the “big brother in Maharashtra and will continue to be so”.
“There is no proposal from the BJP to form any alliance with the Shiv Sena….We are not waiting for any proposal to be offered to us,” Raut added.
Talking about the BJP-led government’s performance in the last four and a half years, Fadnavis said that “potholes” of the last 60 years cannot be fixed within five years.
“We need a continuation,” he said.
Till 2014, the BJP and Sena, allies for long, had an understanding where the former contested a larger share of Lok Sabha seats and the latter contested a greater number of Assembly seats in Maharashtra.
In the 2014 Assembly polls, which the two parties fought separately, the BJP won 122 seats against Sena’s 63.
The Sena later joined the government in the state as a junior partner.
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Common sense suggests 63 cannot be big brother to 122. In the last BMC election, which is the Shiv Sena’s stronghold – and source of sustenance -, the two parties were level. If the alliance does not happen, both parties can kiss goodbye to the state. This is Shri Sharad Pawar’s last big fight. He would want to settle the affairs of the NCP, daughter in Delhi, nephew in the state.
The whole world knows that BJP is desperate. Why deny the obvious?