Chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will face the upcoming Lok Sabha polls “with all its National Democratic allies”, hinting at a possible tie-up with its oldest-ally, the Shiv Sena.

Fadnavis, speaking to party workers (shakti kendra pramukhs) at an event organised by the Mumbai unit of the party, called the 2019 elections “an epochal moment for the country”.

While Fadnavis did not explicity mention the Sena or the future of the saffron alliance in Maharashtra, he indicated through this statement that a tie-up was imminent.

The CM, in his address, said things had changed in a big way since 2014, when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP came to power at the Centre. “The Congress has been emptied out; its leaders have joined us. So, it’s a very strong BJP that will face the 2019 polls in alliance with NDA partners,” said Fadnavis, adding that Mumbai will “break all records” to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shakti kendra pramukhs refer to party workers made in-charge of every polling station in Mumbai across the six Lok Sabha seats — three of which are currently with the Sena.

Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, however, used the occasion to taunt the Sena. Without naming the party, Shelar told party workers to “face political analysts, the Opposition, and [political] enemies who are friends and tell them confidently that all six Mumbai seats will be won by Modi only.”

Calling the 2019 polls as a “make-or-break historic moment for India”, Fadnavis said, “This is an election for Bharat, not for BJP. If a mistake is made now, we will suffer its consequences for the next 100 years.”

Fadnavis slammed the mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance mooted by the Opposition), calling it a “khichdi” of regional satraps. He taunted Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for dreaming of being in the prime-ministerial race when “they have not even touched double digits [in the Lok Sabha].”

First Published: Feb 13, 2019 15:37 IST