Shiv Sena is wise': Maharashtra BJP hopes party changes its mind to fly solo in 2019

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has dismissed alliance partner Shiv Sena’s decision to go it alone in the 2019 general and Assembly elections, saying the Sena would be the “worst loser” in that case.

“They will change their mind,” Fadnavis told NDTV, as it is now clear that the Congress and the NCP are firmly on one side as they look to rally around a strong Opposition.

Shiv Sena is “quite wise politically”, Fadnavis said and added that a united Congress-NCP will cause more damage to them than to the BJP.

A few days ago, the Shiv Sena’s national executive decided to go on its own in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharasthra in 2019.

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A pact of 25 years, the equation between the BJP and the Shiv Sena changed in 2014 when the BJP – which was till then a junior partner – won most Parliament seats in the state. Months later, it became the single-largest party in the 288-seat Assembly, winning 122.

In the last three years, the Shiv Sena has kept up a strident tone against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s polices as well as lobbing a few at Fadnavis himself.