End of an era? Shiv Sena tells BJP it will contest future elections on its own

Flexing its muscles against the BJP, the Shiv Sena said it would contest future elections on its own strength.

Shiv Sena leader and Yuval Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray called said the party would contest the elections and come to power on its own. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the party's convention on its 52nd inauguration day on Tuesday.

"We don't just want to get votes but also want to win minds," said Aaditya, who is Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's elder son, and pointed to the party's "80% social service, 20% politics" credo. He also pointed to the Shiv Sena's performance in the Palghar Lok Sabha by-elections, which they lost to the BJP by a margin of around 30,000 votes.

In January, the Shiv Sena national executive resolved to contest the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections on its own strength. However, the BJP has been stressing on the need for an alliance between the two parties to keep the Congress and NCP out of power.

The Shiv Sena is the BJP's oldest ally in the NDA. The two parties joined hands for a brief while in 1984 and again in 1989. However, the BJP snapped its alliance with the Shiv Sena before the state assembly polls and surpassed its erstwhile senior ally by winning 122 seats as against its 63.