MUMBAI: Amidst uncertainty over an electoral alliance between the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leaders of both parties held their first meeting on Monday to discuss the possibility of an united front ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. Both parties have set January 21 as the deadline for a final decision on an alliance.
Contrary to demands raised by grassroots workers of both parties for contesting the polls independently, the meeting is said to have ended on a positive note with each side expressing readiness to contest as a team. The meeting was attended by Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, MLC Anil Parab and party leader Ravindra Mirlekar of the Sena and the BJP’s Raosaheb Danve, Ashish Shelar, Vinod Tawde and Prakash Mehta.
“Today was only the primary discussion about the alliance and we did not discuss a seat sharing formula. The talks were positive and we will make our leaders aware about the talks,” said Mr. Desai. He added that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are likely to hold talks on Tuesday, and a decision is a possible outcome of the meeting.
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Ashish Shelar, Mumbai unit chief of the BJP, said January 21 as the deadline met with mutual agreement.