No compromise on CM post for Sena, but will give full respect to BJP, says Sanjay Raut
After days of political grandstanding, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday toned down its rhetoric and prepared itself for a fruitful final round of seat-sharing negotiations with its long-term ally, as BJP’s national president Amit Shah arrived in Maharashtra on a three-day visit, amidst hopes of a breakthrough in talks between the two parties in the next 36 hours.
On a day when Shah confabulated with his party’s core group members in Mumbai and evolved a formula for the final round of seat-sharing talks with his party’s ally, the Shiv Sena appeared amenable to an early settlement with the BJP, as indicated by the position taken by Sena’s spokesperson Sanjay Raut during the day.
“Contrary to speculation in the media, constructive talks are going on between the Sena and BJP. The leaders of the two parties are in constant touch with each other. There are always some hiccups in the talks. We expect a final outcome by tomorrow,” Raut said.
Raut said Sena would contest more seats than the BJP. “As far as the Chief Minister’s post is concerned, our president Uddhav Thackeray has made it clear that the CM will be from our side. At the same time, we will give respect and a fair deal to all constituents of the ‘Maha-Yuti’ in the seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP,” Raut said.
Sources in the Shiv Sena said that though it had made it clear to the BJP that it would not settle for less than 150 seats out of the total 288 Assembly seats, it was prepared to reduce the figure a bit in the final round of negotiations.
Three days after Uddhav Thackeray rejected its demand for 135 seats, the BJP reportedly suggested that it be given 132 seats as against 138 seats to be contested by the Sena. Under the BJP’s new formula, four other constituents in the Maha-Yuti will collectively get the remaining 18 seats.
With both the Sena and BJP not making headway in the negotiations, leaders of Swabhimani Paksha and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, both constituents of the Maha-Yuti on Wednesday took the initiative of removing hurdles in the ongoing talks between the saffron alliance partners.
Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha met Uddhav Thackeray and State BJP leaders separately and discussed issues relating to the impending seat-sharing arrangement.
Talking to reporters after meeting the leaders of Sena and BJP, Shetti said that he was optimistic of a breakthrough in the next 48 hours.
Senior State BJP leader Vinod Tawde tweeted after the meeting: “Maha-Yuti partners approached Devendra Fadnavis and me with an appeal that the Maha-Yuti remains intact and goes forward!”
“Fadnavis & I explained the situation to Maha-Yuti partners. We assured them that Maharashtra BJP will place the interest of the State above all," the tweet further said.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah, who arrived late in the evening from Karnataka, skipped a meeting with the State BJP core committee members who he was scheduled to meet either late in the night or on Thursday morning.
"At the meeting, our president will take a final call on how we will proceed in our seat-sharing negotiations," a senior State BJP leader said. Earlier, in the morning, the Shiv Sena sent out an indirect message to the BJP, through an editorial published in its official mouthpiece Saamana.
In the Saamana editorial, the Sena said the outcome of various bypolls across the country was a lesson for all political parties preparing for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, that they could ill-afford to take the people for granted and that the parties should not be overconfident.
"One should have their feet on the ground. One should not be overconfident. The ones who will learn this lesson will capture power in Maharashtra. Otherwise, the people will rebuff you in the polls," the editorial said.
"let us face it. There are different kinds of waves in each election. The scenario changes after each election. No political party can contest the Assembly polls on the basis of its performance in the lok Sabha polls. Similarly, the Assembly poll results are no barometer to the local body elections," the editorial stated.
The editorial has not said anything negative about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "No one should crow that the bypoll outcome has gone against Modi's leadership. The people are fickle-minded. Hence, the outcome should be seen as the wavering sentiment of the people," the editorial stated.