Faced with a resurgent BJP, which is riding the Modi wave, the Shiv Sena has made it clear that it will not play second fiddle to its alliance partner in Maharashtra.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday that there would be no change in the seat-sharing arrangement for the Assembly polls in October and that the right to the Chief Minister’s post would remain with his party.
“It is natural for Shiv Sainiks to expect the CM’s post to remain with the Sena.”
Significantly, he credited his father, the late Bal Thackeray, and not Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi for the Sena’s gains in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
However, the State BJP is in no mood to cede ground.
“The Chief Minister post will go to the party with the most MLAs,” senior leader Eknath Khadse told The Hindu .
“Our party workers expect more seats in this Assembly election. Over the years, the Sena steadily took more seats for the Lok Sabha but our tally for the Assembly remained the same.”
The BJP also points out that the saffron alliance has stretched to include five parties and new entrants will have to be accommodated in the seat-sharing deal.
