Can’t give BJP 135 seats: Uddhav

Both parties have proposed separate formulae on sharing seats for the coming assembly polls in Maharashtra and refused to back down.

September 15, 2014 11:25 am | Updated November 17, 2021 06:58 am IST - MUMBAI:

While the Shiv Sena wants to contest 150 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, the BJP insists that both parties should share 270 seats equally and leave the rest to smaller allies. (file photo)

While the Shiv Sena wants to contest 150 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, the BJP insists that both parties should share 270 seats equally and leave the rest to smaller allies. (file photo)

Adding tension to the already strained ties with its ally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has turned down its demand for 135 seats in the coming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

“I will not break off the alliance. It is a 25-year-old one formed on the basis of Hindutva,” Mr. Thackeray told reporters here on Monday. “But it won’t be possible to give 135 seats to the BJP.” He also disagreed with the BJP’s view that the party with the larger seat share would get the Chief Minister’s post. “This [concept] dates back to the time when the seat-sharing formula too was different,” he said.

BJP’s general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said on Sunday that both the parties should contest an equal number of seats. According to the BJP’s formula, the four smaller allies of the grand Opposition alliance could be given 18 seats and the remaining 270 should be shared equally between the BJP and the Sena.

But the Sena leadership is not ready to give up its demand for 150 seats. In 2009, it contested 169 seats and the BJP 119.

Ever since it won five seats more than the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has been demanding more for the Maharashtra polls. Mr. Thackeray said his party stood with the BJP when it set the target of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha. “We contested in 169 seats in the Assembly, so what’s wrong in our setting a target of 150?” he said.

Countering the BJP’s claim that seat sharing talks had hit a deadlock, Mr. Thackeray said he was in contact with Om Prakash Mathur, BJP’s election committee in-charge for Maharashtra and Devendra Fadnavis, State president of the BJP. “Talks are on and I won’t say anything about it until an amicable solution is reached,” he said.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.