Will stick to seat-sharing pact announced by CM for Maha polls, says Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav’s statement came amid speculation that BJP could be preparing to go solo in the upcoming Maharashtra polls and the party was conduction interviews of aspiring candidates for all 288 seats.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray insisted on Wednesday that the alliance between his party and BJP will be based on the seat-sharing formula announced earlier by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray insisted on Wednesday that the alliance between his party and BJP will be based on the seat-sharing formula decided previously by CM Fadnavis. (HT PHOTO)

Fadnavis had on February 18 said the two parties will split seats equally for the Assembly elections, after giving some seats to their smaller allies —the Republican Party of India (A) and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha.

“There is no reason to raise doubts over the alliance. I, the chief minister and Amit bhai [Shah] had a discussion before the Lok Sabha elections. The CM had outlined how the alliance will be… The alliance formula was decided then. The chief minister of the state had announced when I, as the Shiv Sena chief, and Amit Shah, as BJP national president, were present. There is no need for any other discussion [over it] after a responsible person has announced it,” said Thackeray.

Uddhav’s statement came amid speculation that BJP could be preparing to go solo in the upcoming polls and the party was conduction interviews of aspiring candidates for all 288 seats.

BJP’s state unit president Chandrakant Patil’s comments that equal sharing of seats with Sena “will not be possible” further fuelled doubts about the alliance’s future. Patil, on August 17 in Nagpur, said a seat-sharing agreement between his party and the Sena will have to be “worked out” for the upcoming polls. “If we get to contest 135 seats, it means we will have just three seats for new entrants. BJP and Sena are both aware of this situation. Hence, some way will have to be worked out,” Patil had said.

Meanwhile, the inflow of opposition leaders into the Sena continued. Thackeray on Wednesday inducted former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Dilip Sopal and former Congress MLA Dilip Mane into the party.