Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, a rift cropped up between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena.
Amit Shah, the President of the BJP, on Sunday, gave an open warning to the Shiv Sena party to form an alliance with the Party or the BJP won’t think twice and will defeat the Shiv Sena in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Mr. Shah, yesterday, in Latur, Maharashtra, held a closed door meeting with the BJP workers belonging to Latur, Nanden, Osmanabad and Hingoli.
Amit Shah said, “If any alliance takes place, our preparation will be helpful for our partner’s candidates. Don’t think of whether alliance with Sena will happen or not. Prepare to fight alone.” In addition, he said, “Party workers should get rid of confusion about (prospects of) alliance (with the Shiv Sena). If the allies join us, we will ensure their win, or else will defeat them too (“patak denge.”) Party workers should start preparations at every booth.”
Amit Shah further said, “The BJP would put candidates even in seats contested by allies. So, I urge all party workers to get on the ground and commence preparations in earnest. It is not the job of a party worker to worry about alliances. These matters are the concern of the top brass. Our preparations must be to ensure that the party is victorious in at least 40 of the 48 seats.”
Reacting to the BJP’s words regarding the alliance, a Shiv Sena Party member said, “You don’t want Hindutvavadis. With this statement, you have shown that you would rather enter into an alliance with EVMs.”
The argument continued to heat up between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, who formed an alliance for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
A Shiv Sena member took a dig at the BJP and said, “We are used to attacking those who attack us. This state will show you defeat. The people of the country have already started showing them the way, with the results of five state polls.”
The Shiv Sena Party is all set to contest alone for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in 2019.
Maharashtra will contest the Lok Sabha elections for 48 seats in 2019 and the major parties contesting are the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
