Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray is likely to hold a meeting of party’s Member of Parliament today (Monday) to deliberate upon the alliance with the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party in Maharashtra for upcoming Lok Sabha Polls 2019. If sources to be believed, leaders and workers of both the parties are asserting pressure on the leadership to take a call so that they can go ahead accordingly.
Party members want a decision soon so as to prepare for the elections either alone or as an alliance.
Bhartiya Janta party Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena has been continuously targeting BJP led Central government over various issues including Rafale Deal, Farm Distress, Ram Mandir, others.
On January 25, a report by a Marathi language newspaper Lokmat had suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited Thackeray for dinner in New Delhi. The two were likely to discuss the alliance during the meeting.
However, the report adds that Thackeray was keen that the Prime Minister instead come down to his residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai.
Earlier on Jan 15, While speaking at a promotional event of the upcoming movie Thackeray, based on late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Devendra Fadnavis said that the responsibility of the coalition is on their shoulders. He said his party will find a way to keep the coalition alive with Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray, Devendra Fadnavis share dais amid BJP-Shiv Sena alliance speculations
A BJP MP told a newspaper that ‘More than 90percent of the Shiv Sena MPs are not sure of retaining the seat from their particular parliamentary constituencies and want an alliance’. If there is no alliance, we will also suffer but we will also get to contest more seats than we did in 2014. Some 50 per cent of the sitting Sena MPs have told us that they are willing to contest on BJP tickets in 2019 if there is no alliance,” the BJP MP added.
BJP President Amit Shah early this month set a deadline of January 31 for Shiv Sena to take a call on the future of Shiv Sena’s alliance with them. Amit Shah during a meeting with Maharashtra MPs early this month indicated a possibility of the saffron party might go alone it things with Shiv Sena could not be materialized. Amit Shah while addressing a meeting in Mumbai reportedly give this message to Party’s Maharashtra Parliamentarians.
Shah said that if need be, we should be prepared to contest all 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra,” the MP told PTI.
Things in Maharashtra is, however, does not seems to be going in the favour of BJP. Recent opinion Polls have also suggested tough road as well as a setback for the NDA from Maharastra. ABP News and CVoter Survey predicted 28 out of 48 seats for Congress-NCP alliance. The poll predicted 20 seats for BJP where it had in 2014 General elections won over 40 seats while contesting with Shiv Sena.
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