BJP-Sena alliance continues to hang in the balance; party MPs give Thackeray all rights to decide
Sanjay Raut
Even as the Shiv Sena continued to sing a solo song and refused to play a secondary role in the arrangement, if any, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has brought in an issue that is dear to both parties, and could possibly bind them with approval from their respective workers in the electoral politics that demands a combined force, which is the order of the day.
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The Sena said it hadn't received any proposal from the BJP. Fadnavis said the BJP wanted an alliance in the name of Hindutva, but underscored that his party would not beg for it.
Devendra Fadnavis
'Sena is the big brother'
Sena president Uddhav Thackeray met his members of Parliament on Monday at his Kalanagar residence before Fadnavis made a statement at Aurangabad's party conclave. Thackeray was given all rights to go ahead in the matters of forging a pre-poll pact with the BJP for the summer's Lok Sabha polls, and Assembly elections that are slated in the winter this year.
Sources said the Sena president was willing to partner if a proposal that does not demean his party came from the BJP. Party spokesperson Sanjay Raut said after the meeting the Sena hadn't received any proposal from the ally to contest an equal number of seats in both elections. He said talks hadn't started between the two even as sources said the parties had been discussing the arrangement informally. "The Sena was the big brother and continues to hold the position in Maharashtra. The Sena has the capability of shaking the government in Delhi," said Raut.
'Want alliance, not beggars'
Addressing the BJP's rank and file, Fadnavis said the party was all for an alliance, but it would not beg for it. He said his party wanted a pact only because it would keep the Hindutva and anti-corruption forces together. "Those who are anti-Hindutva will not join hands (with the BJP)," he said, in an apparent attempt to bring the Sena on board over the factor that leaders from both parties speak about.
"What we need to do is make Narendra Modi the PM again and endorse the change that the nation had effected in 2014. Things like mahagathbandhan will not change our prospects," he said.
Raut spelt out more trouble for the BJP. He said the Sena would want the BJP government to make annual income up to R8 lakh tax free in the forthcoming budget. The demand is related to the Modi government's controversial decision of giving 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education to the economically backward families which earn Rs 8 lakh per year, in general category. The Sena has been arguing that capping of income limit meted out injustice to people from other categories because the government taxed the income that falls under this ceiling, so how could the cap be justified to certify the income under the economically backward class?
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