‘Be Ready To Go Solo If…’: Uddhav Thackeray’s Message To Sena Workers

Amid reports that ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are hardening their positions on sharing of seats to contest the Maharashtra Assembly polls, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday reportedly asked party cadres to start preparations to go solo if the alliance talks fail. According to a DNA report, Sena chief said this in the party meeting at his residence Matoshree.

Thackeray, however, said that he is not in favour of contesting the election solo but the party should be ready for any such situation.

Leaders of the BJP and the Sena have held several rounds of talks in a bid to seal a seat-sharing deal. According to reports, the Sena wants the BJP to adhere to the 50:50 formula, which means both the parties contesting equal number of seats.

However, poll managers of the BJP are arguing for more seats to accommodate leaders from Opposition parties and its “growing political might”.

Earlier, BJP sources said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had conveyed to the Shiv Sena that both parties should retain the seats won by them in 2014 and after allocating a certain number of seats to smaller allies, share the rest equally.

However, Shiv Sena sources said the party will stick to the formula of 144 seats each which they claimed was worked out during a meeting between BJP chief Amit Shah, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Fadnavis earlier this year.

In 2014, the BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the assembly polls separately, winning 122 and 63 seats, respectively. The BJP formed its government under Fadnavis in October 2014 and the Shiv Sena joined the dispensation a few months later.

The Congress and NCP had bagged 42 and 41 seats, respectively. The Congress and NCP, too, had contested the 2014 polls separately after sharing power for 15 years in the state. The assembly polls in the state are due in the next few months.