'Accelerating Speed Unnecessarily.....': Uddhav Thackeray's Words Of Caution For BJP

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday 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 the second part of his interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Uddhav Thackeray said that in an alliance both parties need to tread warily else it could lead to an “accident”. He was apparently referring to the breaking of BJP-Shiv Sena alliance ahead of the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

 "We need to control our mind. If you accelerate speed unnecessarily, we can meet with an accident. This has happened earlier," the Shiv Sena president said.

The latest words of caution for the BJP from Thackeray have come a day after he revealed that Shiv Sena “compromised” on seat-sharing pact. On Monday, in the first part of his interview, he had said that he showed “maturity” while dealing with the BJP on seat sharing.

Also Read | BJP-Sena Seal 162-126 Seat-Sharing Agreement For Maharashtra Polls: Sources

The Shiv Sena was reportedly demanding 135 seats but since the BJP was calling the shots, it had to settle with only 124. The Sena chief had also claimed that his party was capable of stopping the so called “Modi wave” and had already done that in 2014.

"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.

When Fadanvis had announced the seat sharing pact with Sena in a joint press conference with Uddhav Thackeray, he had admitted having issues between the two parties but claimed they had been sorted out.

However, the current statements of Thackeray indicates that they might have not been resolved yet. This was also a hint to the BJP that he will not be the same alliance partner this time and if they win, his will want respectable share in power too.