SENA’S BJP STRATEGY TO UNFOLD ON ‘DASARA’

Shiv Sena’s annual crowd-pulling “Dasara rally” may hold answers to the fate of the Sena-BJP alliance during the polls to the richest corporation in the country. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is likely to clear the party’s position on whether Shiv Sena will go solo or retain alliance with its traditional ally BJP.

The budget of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai is nearly Rs 37,000 Crore. That is one of the main reasons why the elections generate interest nationally. There are 227 wards in Mumbai.

Recently, a senior BJP MP announced that the party will fight on its own and contest on all the seats. Uddhav Thackeray had refrained from commenting on the issue. “The Shiv Sainiks are capable of answering him,” he had said. The BJP had towed a safe line. When asked about the comment from a party leader, Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve said, “Every member of the party has the right to have a personal opinion. That does not mean it is the party’s position.”

Meanwhile, though Uddhav has refrained from commenting on the issue till now, he is expected to address it during the Sena’s annual Dasara rally. “The whole country is keen to know the thoughts of Uddhav Thackeray on the corporation polls, the Zilla Parishad elections, the current happenings in the country... Shiv Sainiks from the entire nation will travel to Shivteertha on Dasara to listen to him,” Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece newspaper Saamana announced on Saturday.

The Shiv Sena and BJP have been allies for 25 years now. The bickering between the two parties has been quite public in the recent months. But the top leadership does not seem inclined to part ways.

The tug of war between the Sena and BJP started primarily after the demise of Balasaheb Thackeray. The Sainiks felt that the party was being given secondary treatment.