Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will convene a meeting today with 21 MPs and senior leaders to assess their views on a possible prepoll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. This is the second meeting after January 28 in which Thackeray will seek information from MPs and leaders especially with regard to their own preparations to go solo or in the event of working together with BJP.

Today's meeting is crucial considering that members of the Sena and the BJP have been pressuring their respective party leaders to decide quickly about the alliance.

Senior Shiv Sena MP, who did not want to be named, said, "The party president has asked all MPs (18 from Lok Sabha and 3 from Rajya Sabha) to be present with party leaders at Matoshree for meeting on 11 am on Tuesday. So far there has been no decision on a tie-up with BJP though most of MPs are in its favour. BJP has yet to offer a concrete formula and therefore, Thackeray wants to listen to all MPs, their point of view, and how the equations will change if the party decides to join hand with BJP or go alone."

Further, MPs will brief Thackeray about booth-level preparations of the party organisation and the work done to reach out to voters from cross-sections.

Sena MP said Thackeray will also gather information on the work done by MPs, ministers, and leaders to help drought-hit villagers from 150 talukas. "Thackeray has already told each shakha to mobilise monetary support and also in kind for drought-hit people on a priority basis," he said.

The meeting is also important in light of BJP leaders repeatedly making statements that how the alliance is a foregone conclusion and it will be done soon. At the same time, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and a couple of other leaders also remind Shiv Sena that BJP is fully prepared to fight Lok Sabha polls independently. Fadnavis last week said the BJP does want a pact with Shiv Sena but was not desperate for the tie-up.

For BJP, an alliance with Shiv Sena is important as Maharashtra has the second largest pool (48) of Lok Sabha seats. BJP hopes that allying with Shiv Sena will help to weather anti-incumbency and strongly take on Congress-NCP combined in the state.

However, another MP indicated that the decision on alliance with BJP will be taken once the code of conduct is announced in the first week of March.

HIGH ON HOPE

BJP hopes that allying with Shiv Sena will help to weather anti-incumbency and strongly take on Congress-NCP combined in the state