Shiv Sena to go solo in 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections

On the day Shiv Sena Supremo Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray was named a member of Shiv Sena's National Executive, the party announced that it is going to cut all ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contest 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone.

"We will fight the 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone," said Sanjay Raut, senior Shiv Sena leader.

The decision of Shiv Sena to go alone in 2019 was taken in the Party's national executive meet where Sanjay Raut had moved a resolution in this regard.

The resolution was passed unanimously. It said the Sena has always conceded for upholding the alliance with the BJP and NDA but the BJP always humiliated it.

"We will fight elections in every state for the cause of Hindutva, I take this vow today," said Uddhav Thackeray.

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi Uddhav said, “PM calls himself 'Pant Pradhan' and all he does is travel abroad. He took the Israeli PM to Ahmedabad, why not to Lal Chowk in Srinagar? Why couldn't he have done a roadshow in Srinagar? Had he hoisted tricolour in Lal Chowk we would have felt a sense of pride towards our PM.”

Shiv Sena has pledged to win at least 25 seats (out of 48) in the Lok Sabha and 150 seats (out of 288) in the state assembly. 

“Nitin Gadkari came to Maharashtra and insulted the Navy which guards our borders here. People of the armed forces are the ones with real 56-inch chest, how can you insult them?” asked an angry Uddhav Thackeray at Shiv Sena's national executive meet in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena has been the oldest alliance partner of the NDA since the two parties came together in the mid-90s with the Shiv Sena playing the dominant role in state politics.

The relations between the two right-wing parties have been on a boil for a long time with the Shiv Sena from time to time giving very strong indications of ending the coalition.   

Sanjay Raut had in December hinted that the Shiv Sena and the BJP were ‘done’with each other and on the verge of a split after youth wing head Aaditya Thackeray threatened to walk out of the Maharashtra government.