Civic poll: Bitterness festers among Maharashtra allies Shiv Sena and BJP

MUMBAI: The Kolhapur and the Kalyan-Dombivli civic elections might be over but the tussle continues between the two ruling allies--the Shiv Sena and the BJP. On Tuesday, the first salvo was fired by state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve who said that his party would be staking its claim for mayorship in both Kolhapur and Kalyan-Dombivli municipalities.

“We will have a BJP mayor in both the municipal corporations," said Danve while speaking to the media after a BJP meet. Danve's assertion is surprising considering that BJP is in no position to stake its claim in Kolhapur corporation and, in the KDMC, Sena has more seats than the BJP.

To further rub it in, Danve said that the BJP's election formula of fighting the civic polls alone was a success as the party has increased its strength.

The state BJP chief was also non-committal on whether his party would go in for a tie-up with the Sena for the Mumbai civic elections in 2017. “We will decide in future after we assess the situation," said Danve.This is contrary to what Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said that both the parties will fight the BMC polls together.

Danve, however, claimed there was “no bitterness between Sena and BJP and all the critical comments were made during the heat of the elections".

The Sena did not take kindly to Danve's comments. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray emerging out of a party meeting reacted angrily to Danve's comments on a BJP councillor being the KDMC mayor. “If Danve says they would have a BJP mayor, that means they don't want to tie up with us. Then we are free to go our own way ," said Uddhav .

To further put the state government on the mat, Sena president said that the rising prices of Tur dal are a concern, and his ministers have met Fadnavis asking him to ensure that the prices of pulses do not rise during Diwali.“All this action on hoarders is fine, but the prices are not coming down. Our ministers have asked the CM to ensure the prices of Tur dal is capped at Rs 120 per kg."