BJP turn on NCP to woo Sena?

Mumbai: Equations between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are fast changing. There has been a 180-degree shift in the BJP’s strategy, and now the party has started making efforts to woo Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and his party.

After attacking its ally of 25 years, the BJP during its foundation day ceremony backtracked and publicly expressed its desire to go to the polls in alliance with the Sena.

Political observers believe the BJP leadership has realised that without the Sena victory would prove elusive in Maharashtra. On the other hand, Mr Thackeray has declared twice that his party would contest all polls independently. Despite the BJP’s appeal to woo Shiv Sena at Friday’s rally, Sena minister Subhash Desai reiterated the party’s stand on contesting the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls alone.

Shiv Sena had passed a resolution to contest all polls independently last year. However, the BJP, which has the upper hand in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at present, was seen appealing to the Sena by invoking late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and defending the party against the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) criticism. But the Sena hasn’t responded as expected. “They (the BJP) are trying to woo Sena. But we are doing well. We are confident about going it alone,” said Mr Desai.

“It is good that the chief minister recalled Bala-saheb on the occasion. No programme in Mumbai can be held without Balasaheb,” said Mr Desai.

Sources in the Sena said that Mr Thackeray would soon make his stand clear on the issue, but hinted that the BJP is loosing ground in the country.

The party is also losing its alliance partners such as the Telugu Desam Party and retaining seats in the next Lok Sabha polls won’t be a cakewalk for the party, the sources said.  

The BJP had been maintaining warm ties with the NCP, once termed the naturally corrupt party by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the past three and a half years to keep the Sena in check. But now, with the elections in mind, the BJP will target the NCP over alleged corruption, especially the irrigation scam.

So Amit Shah and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who always spoke about ‘Shat Pratishat’ (100 per cent) BJP after breaking an alliance with the Shiv Sena, is seeking an alliance again.