Senior Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday and said the alliance talks behind closed doors between the Sena and the BJP should have been taken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Shah had said on Wednesday that Devendra Fadnavis had always been the Sena-BJP alliance’s choice for Chief Minister’s post.
Commenting on Mr Shah’s comment that he took Mr. Fadnavis’s name at every public rally and why had the Sena not objected then, Mr Raut said, “Yes, they spoke about Mr. Fadnavis as CM, but in every sabha Uddhavji also said Maharashtra will have a Sena CM. When alliance happened, Uddhavji used to say power-sharing will be 50-50. Why did Amit Shah not say anything then?”
Mr. Raut said he had not heard Mr. Shah saying Mr. Fadnavis would be CM again, though he had heard Mr. Modi saying it. “Considering PM’s stature, we did not counter him. But Modiji was not apprised of whatever was decided between Amit Shah and Uddhavji in a closed room by senior BJP leaders, especially Amitbhai.... Modiji has a big heart. Had he known, maybe things would not have come to this.”
Meanwhile, a video purportedly from February this year has surfaced in which Mr. Thackeray is heard telling party workers that he had ensured equal sharing of power between Sena and the BJP. “They said CM will be from the party that gets the most seats, but I said no,” he says in the video.
Sena backs MLA Kadu
The Shiv Sena’s legislative party leader, Eknath Shinde, on Thursday met Independent MLA Bachchu Kadu, who was protesting at Azad Maidan for improved compensation to farmers who suffered crop losses. Mr. Shinde tweeted after the meeting, “Shiv Sena has extended entire support to him.” The Sena has been demanding more compensation for farmers affected by unseasonal rain.
