25-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP alliance to remain intact, deadlock over seat sharing continues; new formula being worked out

Though the standoff between the Shiv Sena and the BJP over seat sharing continues, leaders of the two parties on Tuesday asserted in a joint press conference that the 25-year-old alliance will remain intact and a new formula is being worked out, considering various aspects.

Senior Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut said, "The alliance will remain intact. Both the parties are keen on the alliance "

BJP leader Vinod Tawde said, "Both the parties want to oust Congress-NCP from power. We feel the alliance should remain intact and different proposals are being worked out to resolve the seat-sharing issue."

He further said, "A meeting will be held along with our other alliance partners, and a new proposal will be discussed. We will take the final decision by the end of the day."

12:35 IST Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Leaders of the Shiv Sena and the BJP are making a last attempt to keep the 25-year-old alliance intact. Sena leaders Subhash Desai, Sanjay Raut and Milind Narvekar have left for a meeting at the BJP's office in Mumbai.

Senior BJP leader Eknath khadse said, "We want the discussion to take place between senior leaders and it should reach some conclusion."

However, Pankaja Munde said, "The BJP has always been in favor of keeping the alliance intact, and we are hopeful of a positive decision. When they (Balasaheb Thackeray and Gopinath Munde) were alive, parties used to respect their decisions, I'm sure the same will happen this time."

She added, "If they were alive, they would have resolved the issue, but I am confident that their footsteps will be followed in, and a positive decision will be taken."

07:10 IST Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Is there any scope of pulling the alliance back from the brink?

Yes. Among the various formulae being talked informally is one more ministership at the centre and maybe a governorship to the Shiv Sena. The BJP has a higher winning percentage in Maharashtra than the Shiv Sena which also has lost some seats by huge margins over the years. The Sena's big grouse against the BJP is that they were given only one union minister for the 18 MPs they have. That shortfall may be rectified in some way.

Why is the Shiv Sena still talking tough?
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has gone in for some uncharacteristic tough talk against his ally and reaffirmed that only 119 seats can be given to the BJP as against the 151 to be contested by the Sena. Also Uddhav is keen on becoming chief minister.

What will BJP finally settle for?
BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that though Shiv Sena may offer up to 124 seats, this is unacceptable to BJP. "We have sent fresh proposals of 130 seats and we will not settle for anything less. We want the alliance to be intact and our proposal is very liberal in nature," said Rudy. 125 seats is likely to be the last-gasp settlement.

Which BJP leaders say they should fight alone?
Party chief Amit Shah, election in-charge Om Mathur and state unit chief Devendra Fadnavis are in favour of contesting alone. Mathur is not in favour of settling for anything less than 130 seats. There's a vertical split within BJP core-committee over the issue. The smaller allies may align with the BJP in case of a split.

BJP emergency meeting in Mumbai today
While the speculations about the saffron alliance has been on the verge of brink, significant enough, an ' important emergency' meeting of Maharashtra State BJP office-bearers has been called in Mumbai on Tuesday. The meeting will be attended by office-bearers, district presidents, MPs and MLAs of the state. "An important announcement may be made in the meeting," said party sources.