The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar on Tuesday rejected the possibility of mid-term elections to the State Assembly. He was clearing the air a day after Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar announced his party was ready for the polls.
Mr. Shelar tweeted, “Statements made by leaders such as Sharad Pawar, who predict the future, mean just the opposite, say political analysts. Therefore there is no possibility of mid-term polls.”
Mr. Pawar said on Monday, “I do not think that the Sena will withdraw support from the State government. They [Sena] cannot live without power. But in case they do, we will not support the government. We are ready, rather we are waiting, to contest the Assembly polls.”
Mr. Shelar said that the Chief Minister has clarified that there would be no threat to the government. “The BJP is confident and has assurance as well,” he tweeted. Education Minister and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde too claimed that the BJP government faced no danger. “The Congress and the NCP are in no position to fight. They have no hope of getting elected again.”
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, after snapping electoral ties with the BJP, has been hinting that he would take a call on pulling out of the State government after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation results are announced. Lately, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mr. Thackeray have been involved in ugly verbal spats. They have been hurling labels such as ‘mafia’, ‘blackmailer’, and ‘liar’ at each during election rallies.
Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil called the ongoing verbal war a drama. He said, “On the one hand, the Sena Ministers are ready for resignation. On the other, their chief Uddhav Thackeray says that he will withdraw support if the BJP goes too far. This clearly means that the Sena has not decided to withdraw support and this is nothing but a drama. The people will surely teach them a lesson.”
