After the exit polls predicted that it would win more seats in Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP is confident it will form the government on its own, (the party’s internal assessment gives it 150 plus seats).
At the same it is also working on other possibilities in the event of it falling short of numbers. The exit polls predict that the party would be the single largest party with a shortfall of 25 odd seats. If it substantially falls short of the half-way figure, 145 — say it gets 103 seats as predicted by one exit poll — the BJP would have no option but to reach out to its estranged but oldest ideological ally, the Shiv Sena. The Sena is still part of the NDA alliance in the Centre.
BJP leaders prefer that the party banks on Independents and defectors to reach the magic figure if it is in touching distance of 145, even if it meant formation of a weak government.
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But a lot depends on the arithmetic and what the Sena does. The BJP is less likely to reach out to the NCP against whom it led a campaign on the issue of corruption though its party leader Questions arise if it will forgive the “back-stabbing” by the BJP? While the Sena rank and file might not like aligning with the BJP, against whom it ran a vicious campaign, observers say the party may be left with no choice.