Leave Alliance Issue to Me: Uddhav Tells Shiv Sena MPs

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with Shiv Senaleader Uddhav Thackeray.

(Photo: PTI)     

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked party MPs to focus on their constituencies and take up strongly farmers' problems while leaving the issue of alliance with the BJP to him.

Sena's commitment is to the people of the state, Thackeray's close aide Harshal Pradhan, said on Tuesday, 29 January, quoting the party chief.

Thackeray had met Sena MPs and MLAs at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra earlier on 28 January.

“The Sena will fight this election with all its strength. All the sitting MPs should focus on issues relatedto their constituencies and if they don’t feel confident of winning again, they should make way for others,” Pradhan said quoting Thackeray.

"The issue of alliance with the BJP should be left to me," he quoted the Sena president as saying. He said Thackeray asked the MPs to work on the ground and review the crop insurance payments and waiver of loans to farmers.

Pradhan also said that Thackeray has not received any communication from the BJP about discussion on alliance prospects.

“Last year, BJP president Amit Shah visited Matoshreeto meet Uddhavji and decided to keep in touch. However, afterthat there has been no communication from the BJP,” he added.

The Sena had last year announced to go solo in futureelections.

The party had on Monday said it would always be the"big brother" in an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra.

Till 2014, the BJP and Sena, allies for long, used tohave an understanding under which the former would contest alarger share of Lok Sabha seats and the latter would get agreater number of Maharashtra Assembly seats to fight.

In this way, both parties took the role of elder andyounger sibling in the general and state polls in theirpolitical 'brotherhood'.

The 2014 Assembly polls, however, ended this ‘sibling’agreement as the BJP, on the back of a strong ‘Narendra Modi wave’ and contesting alone, won 122 seats against the Sena’s63 in Maharashtra.

The BJP went on to form a government in the stateunder Devendra Fadnavis and the Sena had to contend being thejunior partner.