Maharashtra: Shiv Sena alleges pre-meditated 'divorce' as BJP rejects 'final offer'

Mumbai: By rejecting the final offer of 119 seats given by the Shiv Sena, the 25 year old Sena-BJP combine is believed to have headed for a divorce ahead of the assembly elections to be held on 15 October in Maharashtra. BJP leaders have said that they will give the Sena a new seat sharing formula. Many discussions have been held over the last few days, and at least half a dozen seat sharing formulas have been exchanged between the Shiv Sena and BJP. But, the discussions have remained inconclusive as both are rejecting each other’s offers, citing various reasons. On Sunday, the Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray submitted his ‘final’ offer, which comprised 119 seats to BJP, 18 to four small alliance partners and 151 seats for the Shiv Sena. “I want the alliance to remain intact as it is based on Hindutva ideology. So, I am coming two steps backward and giving a final offer to the BJP to the save the 25 year old alliance,” said Uddhav Thackeray while addressing the gathering of senior party leaders on Sunday in suburban Mumbai. He also stated that it was a battle of existence for the Sena and urged party activists to be prepared for anything. [caption id=“attachment_1723543” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Uddhav Thackeray said that the BJP had taken two steps back: PTI[/caption] However, within hours, the Maharashtra BJP leaders rejected the Sena offer saying that there was nothing new in it. BJP leaders said that the party had been contesting 119 seats for last two decades and wanted the seat-sharing formula to be changed. “No offer is final in the alliance and there is always scope for dialogue. We will give the Sena a new offer to consider as re-distribution of seats is required,” said Vinod Tawde, senior BJP leader and opposition leader of the Maharashtra legislative council. In the 2009 assembly polls, the BJP had contested 119 seats while Shiv Sena fought 169. On Sunday evening, while the Sena reportedly started the preparations to contest all 288 assembly seats, the BJP also held a parliamentary board meeting. However no decision was taken on the Sena-BJP alliance. Sena leaders believe that the BJP had a pre-meditated plan to break the alliance, and are just waiting for an appropriate time. “We have given the best offer that we can to the BJP. But, it seems that the party is just waiting for a favorable time to exit from the alliance. Though we want the alliance, the BJP’s seat sharing formula is not acceptable to us as it is not in the interest of the Shiv Sena,” a party leader told Firstpost. The Sena is unwilling to accept less than 150 seats given that fact that the Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray launched ‘Mission 150’ in July, with the aim of making Sena president Uddhav Thackeray the next chief minister. Also, it is said that Sena fears that if it gives more seats to the BJP, then the latter would win more seats and ultimately stake claim to the CM post. This is not acceptable to the Sena as it wants to continue to play the big brother role in the state. BJP leaders are of the view meanwhile, that it should get more seats than last time because of the party’s strong position. “The Sena has unnecessarily made a prestige issue out of ‘Mission 150’. We are in a strong position. That is why we are insisting that we get more seats than last time. The Sena should understand this,” a BJP leader said. He also pointed to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s statements against the BJP and said that it was not in keeping with the alliance dharma. “The statements have hurt the feelings of BJP activists. Even if the alliance remains, this will be difficult to forget.” A section of BJP leaders feel that the Maharashtra election is the best opportunity for the party to silence the criticism which was prompted by its poor performance in the recently held by-polls. “We feel that the Modi factor still will work in the assembly election. Though the party is organizationally weaker than the Sena on the ground, many political leaders with significant presence in their respective constituencies have joined the BJP in past two months. So we can easily make inroads into the Congress-NCP bastion and win more seats,” said a BJP leader. Even as the deadlock between the Shiv Sena and BJP continues over the seat-sharing agreement, the four smaller parties in the alliance are in the process of forging a new alliance to contest the election due to the delay from the saffron combine. These include the Ramdas Athawale led Republican Party of India (RPI-A), the Raju Shetty led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), the Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) and expelled NCP leader Vinayak Mete’s Shiv Sangram. “We will wait till Monday. Or else, we are exploring all other options including forging an alliance with other parties that will offer us honourable seats,” said Raju Shetty, an MP from Hatkanangale. While these four smaller parties may not win many assembly seats on their own, they are expected to play a crucial role in ensuring a win for saffron candidates across the state given their sizeable presence in different communities and regions. Political observers say that the BJP is trying to dominate the Sena by taking advantage of the present political scenario. “The delay in seat-sharing is unprecedented. Ideally, it should have been finalized now. Since the BJP is in power at the Centre, it has become assertive and is putting pressure on the Sena to part with more seats. While it is a battle of existence for Sena, the BJP is trying to dominate the alliance in the state by exploiting the present political scenario,” said PG Jogdand, head of the department of sociology in Mumbai University.