New Delhi:
Days after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray cautioned the BJP against “unnecessarily accelerating the speed,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the saffron party can get majority in Maharashtra Assembly elections on its own. Earlier this month, Uddhav Thackeray had said that despite being part of government without any powers, he never conspired to topple the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra but cautioned that “unnecessarily accelerating speed can cause accident”.
In a veiled reference to Thackeray's "accident" remark, Shah said that the BJP can get enough numbers on its own. "Yes, we can go that far. It is not impossible," he said during an interview with News18. The interim BJP president also made it clear that if the NDA comes to power in the state, Devendra Fadnavis will be the chief minister.
Shah remarks are seen by many as a clear and cut message to Thackeray who had said that Shiv Sena was able to stop the “Modi wave” in 2014. He, however, indicated that his party may offer the post of deputy chief minister to its ally Shiv Sena.
Although the Shiv Sena and the BJP has announced their alliance, Udhhav Thackeray has expressed his displeasure over the number of seats given to his party. Thackeray said that his party has “compromised” on seat distribution for the “welfare of the state”.
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The senior Thackeray also claimed that his party put a check on the ‘Modi wave’ in Maharashtra in 2014 and added that he has always raised common man’s voice despite being in the power. "There is no point in discussing the reasons behind the BJP and Sena contesting (the 2014 polls) separately. It was a war. There was a 'wave' at the national level, but we put a check on it in Maharashtra," he said.
The Shiv Sena was reportedly demanding 135 seats but settled with only 124. In an interview with Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Thackeray said that he showed “maturity” while dealing with the BJP on seat sharing.
