Sena-BJP hard talk begins

Pune: The hard bargaining between coalition partners in the State BJP and Shiv Sena has begun ahead of the poll preparations. While Shiv Sena has internally communicated to their cadre that they should start preparing to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls separately without an alliance with the BJP, sources say backroom talks have been opened with the coalition partner by some leaders of the Sena as the party has now sensed that fighting independently will be damaging for it, considering that NCP and Congress have reached seat sharing agreement in most of the Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said over the weekend that the BJP would back candidates of allies who support Prime Minister Narendra Modi but added that his party had capable candidates to field if this was not the case.

Without naming Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said only candidates who support PM Modi would go to the Parliament in next year’s General elections. The Sena, a constituent of BJP-led governments here and at the Centre, has often attacked PM Modi over various issues. Fadnavis, who was addressing a rally in Pimpri Chinchwad, said some people had questioned whether this rally was a preparation for next year’s Lok Sabha polls for Maval and Shirur seats and if it signaled the end of the alliance with the Sena. Maval and Shirur Lok Sabha seats are currently held by the Sena’s Shrirang Barne and Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil respectively.

“I want to make it clear that this rally is not against any particular party. However, our stand is clear that only those candidates who will support Modiji will go to the Parliament. If our allies show support for Modiji, we have no problem supporting their candidates,” Fadnavis told the gathering. In a message to the Sena about the BJP’s readiness to go it alone in the two seats, Fadnavis, pointing to posters of party lawmakers Laxman Jagtap and Mahesh Landge at the rally venue, said, “If you are not ready to support Modiji, we have capable candidates who can represent these seats in Parliament.”

“To make Modiji the prime minister in 2019 is the need of the entire country as we require a strong leadership,” Fadnavis added.