Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Mumbai, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its long-time partner in Maharashtra the Shiv Sena, continued to bicker over the sharing of seats ahead of the assembly elections in the state, with various numbers doing the rounds. The BJP has now asked the Shiv Sena to decide on whether it wants an alliance or not—by Friday morning. The BJP, emboldened by its victory in the Lok Sabha polls in May—it won 282 seats in the Lok Sabha, the highest by any party since 1984 and a clear majority—no longer wants to play the role of the junior partner (or at least, not by much). The Shiv Sena, which has always considered itself the senior partner in the state is loath to give in, and seems to have hardened its stance after the BJP’s reverses in bypolls to assembly constituencies in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The hardening of positions came after the Sena refused to reciprocate to the BJP’s effort at a rapprochement. On Thursday morning, addressing the party’s workers at Kolhapur, BJP chief Amit Shah offered an olive branch to the Shiv Sena : “We have come two steps forward now you come two steps forward and work towards a seat-sharing formula which keeps honour and prestige of both parties intact.” That is a change from the party’s original position that the two partners contest 135 seats each in the 288 member assembly, leaving the rest for smaller partners. The Shiv Sena is insistent on contesting 150 seats. A senior state BJP leader who did not wanted to be identified said, “Notification for the elections will get issued on Saturday which means filing of the nomination papers will also begin from Saturday and we will like to have clarity on how many seats, we are contesting before that.” The polls are scheduled for 15 October. Meanwhile a meeting is underway at Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s residence to formalise the party’s response to BJP’s ultimatum. Most senior BJP and Sena leaders did not answer phone calls and text messages seeking comment. Meanwhile, Raju Shetti, president of Swabhimani Party and Member of Parliament from Hatkangale constituency in Kolhapur issued an ultimatum of his own—to both senior partners of the Mahayuti alliance that comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and several smaller parties. “If both these parties don’t sort out their differences by Sunday, we will announce our decision to contest elections on our own.”
Agencies
