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Disappointed with BJP, Shiv Sena to field candidates on 25 Lok Sabha seats in UP
The party’s decision to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh comes up at a time when the ruling party is gearing up to take on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)- Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance in the state.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said his party will field candidates on 25 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, adding that his party had decided to ally with smaller parties in the state and talks were going on with the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) in this regard.
The party’s decision to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh comes up at a time when the ruling party is gearing up to take on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)- Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance in the state.
Raut said there was no question of an alliance with BJP in the Lok Sabha election in UP as the BJP had broken its electoral pact with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
The party’s state unit had been directed to gear up the cadre for the election and senior Shiva Sena leaders will campaign for the party soon, he said in Lucknow.
Raut was here for promotion of his film production venture ‘Thackeray’ based on the life of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
Although the Shiv Sena was a regional political party, it had a national appeal and was preparing its election strategy accordingly, Raut said. After the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress bonhomie in Maharashtra, the BJP leaders were sending feelers for a re-alignment but it was too late as the Shiv Sena had decided to contest the election on its own, he said.
“The Shiv Sena workers are not ready mentally for an alliance with the BJP. It’s difficult for us to convince the party workers, they are disappointed with the BJP. If we try for a re-alignment, then our cadre base will break before the crucial Lok Sabha election,” he said.
Replying to a question, Raut said the Shiv Sena had decided to form an alliance with smaller parties in UP to strengthen its base in the state.
Raut said talks were going on with Om Prakash Rajbhar, national president of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), for pre-poll alliance in UP, he said.
An alliance partner of the BJP in UP, SBSP chief Rajbhar is a cabinet minister in Yogi government. His relationship with the state BJP unit has turned sour after he openly criticised the Yogi government’s policies. Raut said the SBSP wielded influence over the backward communities across the state. “We will welcome Rajbhar into our fold,” he said.
The Shiv Sena leader said participation of leaders of the opposition parties in the rally organised by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata was a warning signal for the BJP.
“Out of frustration, BJP leaders are calling opposition unity anti- democratic and anti- national, which is against democratic values. The leaders of 22 parties have strong a support base to bring change in the 2019 Lok Sabha election,” he said.
Raut said when former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was leading the NDA, there was no dissent among the partners but now the allies were feeling suffocated.
After gaining majority in the Lok Sabha in the 2014 election, the BJP leaders asserted that the Modi wave enabled them to form the government, Raut said.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners were taken for granted and considered political rivals, Raut alleged, adding the BJP leaders prepared a plan to finish off the regional and smaller political parties.
Despite being part of the government, the Shiv Sena opposed their design vehemently, he said.
The BJP will definitely realise the importance of alliance partners in the Lok Sabha election and the top BJP leadership will chant the alliance tune soon, he predicted.
AK Mishra, a political observer said though the Shiv Sena did not have a support base in Uttar Pradesh, yet the party’s pronouncements in support of Ram temple and Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to Ayodhya in November last year had generated support for it among the Hindu community, which was disappointed over delay in construction of the Ram temple. If Shiv Sena plays up the Ram temple issue during the election campaign, it will definitely spell trouble for the BJP, he said.
