BJP should learn from by-polls: Shiv Sena

mangaloretoday.com /India Today

Mumbai, Sep 18, 2014: The by-poll results have emboldened the Shiv Sena which has hardened its stance against its ally the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) demand for an equal share of seats for the assembly polls.

“The BJP should learn a lesson from the results. It needs to keep its feet on the ground. Their leaders should think about whose wave there is. If there is a wave, then the Shiv Sena has also played a role in it,” Shiv Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam told The Hindu.

In a show of strength, party chief Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting of senior leaders and district heads in Mumbai on September 19th.

Shiv Sena leaders say the results prove its stand that the alliance needs to stick to its 2009 seat-sharing formula of 119 seats to the BJP and 169 to the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena has traditionally been the Big Brother in the alliance but the BJP has been pushing for a larger chunk of seats after its spectacular showing in the Lok Sabha polls.

In a dig at the BJP, a senior Shiv Sena leader said, “These results emphasise the importance of regional players. Perhaps we need to return to the seat-sharing formula of 1990 where the Shiv Sena had 183 seats and the BJP got only 105 seats.”

Seat-sharing talks between the allies came to a halt after the BJP proposed an equal share of 135 seats for itself and the Shiv Sena. It suggested that the remaining 18 seats be divided between smaller allies. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray rejected the demand outright.

Meanwhile BJP leaders within Maharashtra are trying to downplay the by-polls results. “These are local results, limited to those constituencies. They do not impact the entire country,” said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari. He also pointed out, “All these by-polls were from outside Maharashtra. The picture in the state favours us.”

When asked about the status of seat-sharing within the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance he said, “Our party president Amit Shah is coming to Mumbai on Wednesday, so senior leaders will take a decision on this.”