Shah meets Uddhav after Sena says will go it alone in 2019 polls

NEWDELHI/MUMBAI/PUNJAB: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah kick-started his series of talks with key National Democratic Alliance partners, calling on Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for a two-hour meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Shah, who was in Mumbai for a day-long visit, met Thackeray at his residence Matoshree in Bandra East at around 7.40pm and was with him until 10.10pm. The two leaders had a closed-door one-on-one meeting for 20 min-

ARUN JAITLEY, Union minister

utes, followed by a marathon discussion also involving Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Thackeray’s son Aditya, according to people familiar with the developments.

“The agenda of the meeting was to ensure better coordination and resolve grievances. The BJP is keen on an alliance with the Sena in the upcoming polls. Both our parties will face losses if we contest separately in the face of a united Opposition from the Congress-ncp (Nationalist Congress Party) in the state,” said a senior BJP state functionary.

The meeting came on a day when the Sena mouthpiece Saamana had made a scathing comment about Shah’s outreach to allies, in which he will meet Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and Janata Dal (United) leaders. “The PM is touring the world and BJP chief Amit Shah is touring the country as part of their Sampark for Samarthan (contact for support). Shah will be meeting NDA allies. But, what exactly will he do? It is a question why he is meeting now after the BJP suffered defeats in bypolls. Sena will contest 2019 elections solo,” the editorial in Saamana read.