Mumbai: Shiv Sena’s row with long-time ally BJP, over seat-sharing for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, was “unfortunate”, party chief Uddhav Thackeray admitted on Sunday while addressing the party’s National Executive meet.
“There is a tug of war in the alliance. What is happening right before elections is unfortunate. Seat distribution is a complicated affair,” he told Sena workers, adding, “We want to win and we will win the elections”. His comments come a day after BJP rejected the Sena’s final offer on seat sharing, deepening the crisis facing the alliance.
“The big question is whether the alliance with BJP will survive,” said Thackeray, adding that he will be “unhappy” if the decades-old partnership came to an end.
Sources had said Sena wants to contest 155 of the 288 seats in the assembly and suggested that BJP contest 125, ten less than it has reportedly demanded.Â
Such a formula would have left only eight seats for their smaller partners in what is called the “Mahayuti” alliance and not the 16 to 18 that was originally planned.Â
“I met (Shiv Sena chief) Uddhav Thackeray and told him that we have received the proposal. I informed that we cannot accept the proposal as after discussing it, we have informed Shiv Sena that if we accept it we would be contesting lesser seats than the last election,” Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis has said.Â
A delegation of BJP leaders are meeting the party’s top leadership in Delhi to find a way out of this stalemate.
Meanwhile, the party seemed to be making a point to its estranged ally today, with party vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe tweeting, “BJP never indulged in insulting allies through controlled news papers. We have always valued political allies”.
The latest rejection has put further strain on the alliance as most analysts saw the latest formula as the last attempt by the Sena to save the partnership. All of last week was spent in an exchange of tough words and brinksmanship, with leaders admitting that the 25-year-old alliance was in deep crisis.Â
In the last assembly election, the Shiv Sena contested 169 seats, while the BJP contested 119. But this time, the BJP is arguing that after its superior performance in the Lok Sabha elections four months ago it cannot be counted as the junior partner in the state anymore and wants both partners to contest 135 seats each, and leave the rest for smaller allies.Â
Shiv Sena is adamant that it will contest 155. At stake is the post of chief minister, which will go to the party with most legislators if the coalition wins.