Maha gathbandhan: BJP, Shiv Sena hug & patch up before polls

Ending a long spell of sniping at each other and vowing they won't patch up for polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena have formally announced an alliance for general, state and local body elections after finding common ground on a raft of issues including seat share, Ram Temple construction and farm loan waiver.

The announcement, made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday, at a press conference for which BJP chief Amit Shah had flown down to the city, comes after the two ideologically aligned ruling parties agreed that Sena will contest 23 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, and BJP the rest.

For assembly polls due later this year, BJP has accepted Sena's demand for an equal split of constituencies, after their allies are accommodated. Sena, driving a hard bargain, also asked for the chief minister's post after the state polls, but Fadnavis said the "responsibilities" would be divided equally between the two.

"With some parties trying to create a churn by challenging nationalist sentiments, the people feel it is necessary for nationalist parties to unite," said Fadnavis, adding, "Sena and BJP have decided to contest all future elections together."

Sena had been relegated to the role of a junior ally when BJP snapped its 25-year-old ties with it after surging to power in the 2014 general election and before assembly polls the same year. 

Resentful, Sena took to disdaining its ally frequently while being a partner in the BJP-led governments at the Centre and the state. The bipartite ties soured to the extent that the Uddhav-led party announced in 2017 that it would go it alone in the elections.

But Monday officially marked a thaw in the estrangement, with Fadnavis stating the parties had "united in the heart of their hearts," and Uddhav admitting there had been "bitterness", which should not be repeated.

Shah, who had met with Uddhav before the press meeting, said Sena and Akali Dal were two allies of the BJP that had stood by it through thick and thin. He said the parties had overcome their differences and would sweep 45 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra."

The alliance between Shiv Sena and BJP is not just one based on politics, but principles," he stated.

Fadnavis added that the alliance was struck in the larger public interest, not just for seats. Uddhav agreed, stating, "The Hindus wanted this unification. They are happy." The Sena chief, though, also said it was necessary that the BJP prevent episodes of "bitterness".

Fadnavis said Sena's demand to iron out kinks in implementation of schemes for farmers like loan waiver and crop insurance had been accepted. He said they had also accepted the demand to scrap a Rs 3 lakh-crore petrochemical complex proposed at Nanar in Ratnagiri in the Konkan region and shift it elsewhere, as well as the BMC's proposal to waive property tax on houses up to 500 square feet in area.

Fadnavis said leaders of the two parties would tour Maharashtra together to meet workers and direct drought relief measures.Uddhav also raked up the Ram temple issue, saying: "Ram temple has been the common thread for alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena; it has to be built at the earliest."

RAINBOW PACT IN TN

After sealing its alliance with Sena in Maharashtra, BJP president Amit Shan is all set to announce a rainbow alliance comprising AIADMK, PMK and DMDK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.