Sanjay Raut says ties may break if not given equal seats

Mumbai: After transport minister Diwakar Raote, another senior Shiv Sena leader, Sanjay Raut, has indicated that the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may break down if his party is not given half the seats in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls.

“The fifty-fifty formula that was decided in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should be respected by the BJP. I am not talking of breaking the alliance but what Mr Raote said is not wrong,” said Mr Raut.

Mr Raote on Wednesday had said that if the Sena was not given equal number of seats by the BJP, the pre-poll alliance between the two parties could break down.

However, Mr Raut said their party president Uddhav Thackeray and the chief minister are firm on the alliance for the Assembly polls and are in the process of sealing the seat-sharing pact. “We will fight elections together. Why not?” he said.

Senior BJP leader and state water resources minister Girish Mahajan had said that only Mr Shah, the chief minister and Mr Thackeray could talk about the alliance.  

“The alliance talks will pick up after Mr Fadnavis concludes his yatra. The alliance will be finalised in two to three days. Both the parties are positive about the alliance and it will happen,” Mr Mahajan had said.

The chief minister on September 16 had said that talks were going on with Shiv Sena over seat-sharing and a decision would be taken soon.

The BJP and Shiv Sena contested 2014 Assembly elections separately after they failed to strike a seat-sharing deal.