Shiv Sena gains confidence from BJP’s bypoll reverse, may arm-twist partner in seat-sharing talks

MUMBAI: BJP’s shock defeat in bypolls held across several states has given the Shiv Sena confidence to pressure its partner in the ongoing seat-sharing talks for the Maharashtra assembly elections.

The Sena claimed that its adverse comments on the so-called Modi wave stood vindicated. BJP, on the other hand, seemed to be on the backfoot and said that a review in 59 assembly seats was all it had suggested and was not in favour of breaking its alliance with Shiv Sena.

Sena President Uddhav Thackeray had said a few days ago that the socalled Modi-wave was not the single factor responsible for the saffron alliance’s win in Lok Sabha polls. This led to a war of words between senior leaders of Sena & BJP. Following this, Thackeray asked party leaders on Monday not to make any comments on the seat-sharing impasse.

However, senior Sena MLA Ramdas Kadam said on Tuesday that his party felt that BJP should learn the lessons from the by-poll results. “Our leaders had said that the Lok Sabha elections were not won merely on the basis of one wave...We did not believe the Modiwave was responsible for the alliance’s victory in Maharashtra. Our comments stand vindicated. BJP must realise that bigger battles are still to be won”, said Kadam.
The seat sharing talks are expected to linger on for at least a couple of days. A senior Rajya Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena told ET that the new formula envisaged 16 seats to alliance partners (eight each from Sena & BJP quotas) and 125 seats for BJP. But BJP leader Vinod Tawde said the numbers had not been finalised and his party was not looking at anything less than 135 seats.

State BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari refused to comment on the seat-sharing impasse while other leaders said that negotiations were still on. BJP’s Maharashtra state president Devendra Fadnavis betrayed the party’s anxiety when he said that his party had merely suggested redistribution of candidate list in 59 constituencies.

Both sides, however, reiterated that their alliance would not be broken even while admitting that talks over seat-sharing were dragging beyond expected time.