BJP, Sena gear up to go solo in Maha polls
Both parties are readying candidates to contest all seats alone in the state
The mood is clear in the Opposition in Maharashtra and it is not one of compromise. Both the Shiv Sena and BJP are making fervent preparations to go alone in the Assembly polls.
Shiv Sena, for its part, is inducting leaders from other political parties to strengthen its base in all 288 constituencies. In a closed- door meeting held at Nagpur with the RSS, BJP state president Devendra Fadnavis is said to have indicated that the party will contest the Maharashtra polls independently.
The Shiv Sena so far has brought in 20 leaders and workers from Congress and NCP across the state and leaders have hinted that more will join. According to sources, Uddhav Thackeray has been aggressively inducting “winnable” candidates from the Congress and NCP to be prepared to face the elections alone.
So far the defectors have been former NCP MLA Deepak Kesarkar from Sawantwadi, former Solapur MP Pratapsinh Mohite Patil’s son Dhavalsinh, Kishor Kanhere from Vidarbha who is a close aide of PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Ravi Phatak, Thane corporator and former industries minister Narayan Rane’s associate. Recently, NCP’s north Mumbai chief Prakash Surve joined Sena with his entire unit. Mr Surve had contested from the same seat in 2009 as well and was almost certainly getting an NCP ticket from the constituency. However, he still chose to defect to Sena.
“We have not committed to give tickets to everyone who joins us. But we need candidates on all the 288 seats if the Mahayuti alliance does not work out,” a senior Sena leader said.
The Sena insiders are of the opinion that the party leadership is uncertain of the BJP’s attitude. After the LS polls, the BJP has emerged as the strongest party in the state and have been demanding an equal share, which Sena has refused. There are smaller partners that are demanding over 50 seats, which is impossible to give. “With the changing political scenario, it has become important to keep the party prepared for any situation,” the Sena leader said.