Saffron Split

Months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, it seems the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is headed for a bitter end.

- Dnyanesh Jathar

THE BJP - SHIV SENA alliance is over. Or so it seems. The BJP, under constant attack from its alliance partner, has decided to not play ball with the Sena for electoral gains. This was evident when, at a party event in Latur on January 6, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We will field candidates in all 48 seats [in the Lok Sabha elections]. Even the seats contested by our friends will have BJP candidates. So, you must ensure that we win 40 of the 48 seats.”

A senior BJP leader told THE WEEK that the Sena wanted to damage the BJP at any cost, and that it might not work earnestly even if the alliance endures. Apparently, there is a large section in the BJP that wants the alliance to end. “What is the guarantee that they will not help an independent or a Nationalist Congress Party candidate in the seats contested by the BJP?” asked the leader. “The Sena wants the [number of] BJP seats to reduce. They are also sending out feelers, saying the assembly elections should be held along with the Lok Sabha elections. They also want us to give them an assurance that the Sena will get the chief minister’s post, even if we have more seats. They want us to follow the Karnataka formula where the Congress, despite more numbers, has supported H.D. Kumaraswamy. There is a strong feeling in the party that we have waited long enough now. We do not see any change in the Sena’s attitude; they continue to hit out at us every day. So, why keep the doors open and face the stones? They are anyway out to sink us. I feel the chief minister was right in his position. Now, if they want an alliance, let them come forward with a concrete proposal.”