Amit Shah gives green signal to BJP-Shiv Sena tie-up; official announcement soon

MUMBAI: Senior BJP leaders in Maharashtra indicated on Wednesday evening that an alliance with Shiv Sena for the assembly elections would be announced in the next 24 to 36 hours. BJP President Amit Shah held a meeting with leaders of the state unit here and took stock of the seat-sharing talks with Sena. Although Shah avoided meeting Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, state BJP leaders told ET that he had given a green signal for an alliance with Sena.

Hectic activity was on at Thackeray’s residence since morning on Wednesday. Two rounds of meetings happened between the Sena leadership and alliance partners. In the afternoon, one meeting took place between some Sena leaders and BJP office-bearers.

Shah arrived in the city in the evening and met his party colleagues at suburban Bandra. Ironically, Shah who met his team just 4 km away from Thackeray’s residence preferred not to hold any talks with the Sena chief, and went for a private function in south Mumbai.

While BJP has been asking for over 135 seats, Sena is reluctant to bring its tally down to under 150 seats. Other smaller alliance partners also have to be accommodated in the seat-sharing formula. Several rounds of talks have happened between the two parties, but no resolution has been found.

Despite repeated requests, BJP leaders refused to reveal the figure that was discussed or decided by the BJP brass. A BJP MLC said: “We had talks with smaller parties such as the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana of Raju Shetty and RPI. We are trying our best for a quick resolution. You will hear an announcement of the alliance within the next 24 to 36 hours.”

BJP President Amit Shah will visit his wife’s town Kolhapur on Thursday. Shah is on Maharashtra visit for three days. He spent his first day in Mumbai. On Thursday, he is scheduled to go to Pune and later to Kolhapur.