Be our ally for all municipal polls, or none: Shiv Sena to BJP

Mumbai: Alliance talks between Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might get tougher; as the Sena has set a condition that the latter must contest all 10 municipal corporations along with it if, it wants to be its ally. The Sena is of the opinion that the BJP cannot choose and pick the allies on the basis of political situations. Hence both parties have not yet started their alliance discussions though the code of conduct for the municipal corporation polls can be declared any time soon. 

The cities whose municipal corporations will go to the polls next month include Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik and Nagpur. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is important for both the parties, as it is the key of the financial capital of the country. In some places, the Sena is stronger and in others BJP. The sources in the Sena said BJP wants to go it alone in Nagpur, where has a strong presence. On the other hand, Shiv Sena doesn’t require the BJP for BMC polls, as Mumbai is its stronghold.  

“Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has already made it clear that alliance cannot take place at only one or two municipal corporations. It has to be in all the municipal corporations or all the zilla parishads. As of now there is no proposal for alliance from the BJP,” Sena MP Anil Desai said. 

Both parties have started preparing for going solo and have also communicated with their workers on the issue. “We have started preparing like all other parties. If the alliance takes place it will be good; if not, we will prepare to go it alone,” Mr Desai said. 

To a query about the BJP’s demand of 100 seats, the Sena MP said no formal talk was held on seat sharing. “I have no clue about the official figure. Only Uddhavji will decide on the issue,” he said.  There were reports from the BJP camp that the party wanted 100 seats for the polls from Sena. However, no BJP leader confirmed this.