BJP, Sena have to come together: Gadkari

MUMBAI: A day after the BMC polls threw up a fractured verdict, senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said on Friday that there is “no option” for his party and Shiv Sena than joining hands for control of the Mumbai civic body.

“The situation now is that both parties have no option but to come together again,” Gadkari said.

“The final decision on this issue has to be taken by chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. Both are mature and I am sure they will take the right decision,” he said.

“I feel leaders of both parties have to take a decision, showing sujh bujh (understanding) and maturity,” Gadkari told a Marathi TV channel.

He singled out Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ for its targeting of PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

“If there has to be a friendship with us (BJP), then there has to be a check on the writings in Saamana. How will there be friendship when Saamana, on a daily basis, writes insulting things about the PM and our party president?” he said.

“I feel that had these things been avoided, there would not have been so much bitterness between BJP and Sena,” he said.

Shiv Sena should take care that relations between the two parties should not deteriorate because of Saamana, he added.

Gadkari’s remarks came a day after the BJP scored an emphatic win in the Maharashtra civic polls, emerging as the largest party in eight of the 10 municipal corporations, while finishing a close second to Sena in BMC.

The BJP improved its 2012 BMC poll performance by leaps and bounds, winning 82 seats, justtwolessthanSena.Boththe parties are short of the magic figure of 114 needed to control the civicbody.