‘We’re not helpless, just gave another chance to the alliance’

MUMBAI: After questions were raised over the Shiv Sena’s decision to revive its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Sena clarified why the alliance was done. The Sena said it is not “helpless” and there was no “adjustment” and that it gave “another chance” to the alliance after differences were sorted between the two parties. On Monday, the BJP and Sena announced its alliance for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The Sena in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said it looked at the “numbers” and the “new arrangement” like any other political party.

“In a parliamentary democracy, numbers have got more importance. Therefore, like others who look at the numbers, we too have to do it”, the editorial said. However, it added that it has not “turned the way the wind was blowing” and that the “wind” is now in favour of the Sena.

The Sena said it never left the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) like Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the other NDA constituent. “Even a trusted ally like Nitish Kumar has quit the NDA twice. Nitish, who had attacked on the issues of Ram temple and Godhra, was not acceptable to Modi... if Nitish can come back into the NDA, then why not Sena?,” the editorial said. After almost five years of constant criticism, the Sena came at the receiving end after its U-turn to ally with the BJP.

The editorial in the Marathi daily added, “The Opposition questions why the alliance happened... We told Amit Shah what we wanted to convey in ‘Thackeray’ style. It was unanimously decided that mistakes committed earlier will not be repeated. After that, it was decided to give another chance to the alliance. However, there was no enmity between the BJP and Sena.” The Sena said it maintained its “dignity and will continue to do so.” It said the 2014 ‘wave’ is gone and the elections have to be fought on “ideology, work and the future”.