BJP Prepares For Life After Sena, But Keeps Door Open

NEW DELHI: Reconciled to a near-inevitable break-up with Shiv Sena, BJP on Sunday rolled out a plan to contest all 288 seats in Maharashtra along with its smaller allies.

The decision was taken by the party’s central election committee (CEC) after BJP chief Amit Shah briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Sena’s adamant posture on seat-sharing. The CEC also finalized candidates for all the seats.

BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said after the meeting, "Maharashtra seats were discussed at the CEC meeting. Most of the candidates have been decided upon, and party president Amit Shah will announce these names. The political situation in Maharashtra was also discussed, and it was decided that efforts to continue with the alliance will be on, and we would want it to continue in the same spirit that the partnership has been going on for so long in a mutually respectful manner."

With the process of filing nominations for the October 15 assembly polls not expected to gather momentum before September 25 because of the ongoing ‘inauspicious period of pitru paksha,’ both parties are considering waiting for another 72 hours before taking a final decision on the crucial alliance.

"There is time till ‘shradh’ (which ends on September 24) for the tug-of-war to go on," a senior BJP leader said.

Senior BJP leaders from Maharashtra, who were in New Delhi on Sunday to attend the party’s Parliamentary board meeting, sought the central leadership’s go-ahead to snap poll ties. BJP also rejected Sena’s latest formula which Uddhav Thackeray spelt out at a party jamboree held in a Bandra auditorium on Sunday. Thackeray said Sena would contest 151 seats and leave 119 for BJP and 18 for junior allies.

READ ALSO: As Sena and BJP negotiate, smaller allies talk of parting ways

"This is all that I have to offer to BJP. If they reject this, then I am left with no other alternative," Thackeray told Shiv Sainiks. This is Uddhav’s lump-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to BJP, said observers. Like the Maharashtra BJP, Sena has asked all its party units across the state to be prepared to contest polls on their own strength, sources said.

In his 45-minute speech, Thackeray gave ample indications that he was willing to plan Sena’s future minus BJP. "I will undoubtedly feel sorry if the alliance breaks... But if you are going to treat us like a blade of grass then our tigers are ready (to go solo)," he said.

Urging Shiv Sainiks to remain united and stand behind the party leadership, Thackeray said, "This is our battle for survival... This is our final test. We will succeed if providence is on our side... We will fail if fate is not in our favour... Don’t forget that Chhatrapati Shivaji was born in Maharashtra and he took on the mighty Mughal rulers."

Talking to mediapersons in New Delhi, BJP leaders Eknath Khadse and Vinod Tawde summarily dismissed Sena’s formula. Khadse said his party was not ready for any more sacrifices for the Sena’s sake. Both he and Tawde made it clear that extracting more seats from Sena was their party’s top priority. "The Maharashtra BJP’s strike rate was 60% in 2009, while the Sena’s strike rate was 40%," Khadse pointed out.

Stating that BJP had offered its Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra to RPI leader Ramdas Athavale in the larger interest of the ‘maha yuti’, Khadse expressed shock and dismay that the Sena was not willing to part with a couple of assembly seats as compensation.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with BJP president Amit Shah. (PTI file photo)

Earlier in the day, hours after Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's tough talk in Mumbai, BJP told its partner that it was the duty of both parties to continue the tie-up and sort out issues instead of going through the media, in remarks directed at the Sena chief. BJP also termed Thackeray's final offer to it as being “nothing new” as the party has been contesting on 119 seats ever since the partnership started 25 years ago.

Tawde said Sena should accept BJP’s demand for re-allocation of assembly seats. "The number of seats which Sena lost in the last five elections is 59. We want these seats to be re-distributed," he stated.

"The issue of seat-sharing issue can be sorted out mutually through face-to-face talks and not through media (TV)," Tawde added.

Uddhav, too, used harsh words for the 25-year-old ally. Giving a lowdown on the seat-sharing talks, he said BJP’s Om Prakash Mathur came to him 10 days ago with the 135:135 formula. "I told him we should sit down and talk. We must iron out the issues between us. Mathur later came to see me with an offer of 145 seats... We will give you these many seats, he said. Who are they to give us?", he asked.

Thackeray also referred to the 140:130 formula which state BJP president Devendra Fadnavis presented to him on Saturday.

The thrust of Thackeray’s speech was that BJP was not ready to acknowledge Sena’s growing strength in Maharashtra and that Sena would not tolerate humiliation from its poll partner. "What is in our ‘naseeb’ (fate), no one can take away from us," he remarked.

"We have respect for Narendra Modi. But he too was humiliated as a chaiwalla... Our Sainiks will assume power if Goddess Tulja Bhavani and Goddess Mahalakshmi bless them," he added.

Recalling Sena-BJP’s halcyon days, Thackeray praised Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde for leading the alliance. "Mahajan and Munde never stretched things too far. Our differences would never spiral out of control."

(From left) BJP leader Vinod Tawde, BJP national president Amit Shah, president of Maharashtra state unit of BJP Devendra Fadnavis and BJP MLC Chandrakant Patil during a rally in Kolhapur. (TOI photo)

"I have no ego, no ambition. I have a high level of self-confidence… I want power in Maharashtra, not for any other reason but to accelerate Maharashtra’s development," said the Sena president.

Senior Sena functionary Subhash Desai said there was no Modi wave in Maharashtra or elsewhere in the country. Why did the BJP lose heavily in recent by-elections if there was a Modi wave, Desai asked.

Thackeray claimed Modi could continue as Gujarat CM after the Godhra episode because of Balasaheb Thackeray. "L K Advani had sought Balasaheb’s advice on whether to remove Modi as Gujarat CM following widespread clamour against him. Balasaheb told Advani to retain Modi, and described Modi as a ‘mard’ (brave man) and a ‘tiger’," Uddhav said.

The smaller allies, meanwhile, gave a word of warning. Mahadeo Jankar of the Rashtriya Samaj Party asked the Sena-BJP to finalise the seat-sharing formula by Monday, failing which he and the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana led by Raju Shetti would walk out of the alliance.

"If the differences over seat-sharing are not resolved by tomorrow, I and Raju Shetti will contest all the 288 assembly seats jointly," Jankar told agencies. The two parties would contest 144 seats each, he said.

Ramdas Athavale of the RPI demanded 20 seats for the smaller allies. "Out of the 20 seats, RPI should get 10, five each from the Sena and BJP," he said.