Sena BJP talks hits a road block, pre poll alliance looks bleak now

The chance of a pre poll alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena for the upcoming civic body polls looks bleak, with both sides claiming larger number of seats to contest.

 

Indicating that the seat sharing talks between the Shiv Sena and the BJP for the BMC polls had hit a speed-breaker, Shiv Sena leaders tried to up the ante and accused their ally of double standards. Shiv Sena leader and legislator Anil Parab said while chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was voicing his support for an alliance between the two parties, BJP leaders were levelling allegations at them. Parab charged that this amounted to “double-standards” and asked for this to be stopped.

 

He questioned if Fadnavis was supporting this and said if this was not the case, the BJP leaders should be reined in. While the BJP has sought that “transparency” in the affairs of the BMC, which is India’s richest civic body and has been under the Shiv Sena’s control for the past 20 years, be an issue, Parab said BJP ministers Vinod Tawade and Prakash Mehta and the party’s Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar were also facing allegations.

 

“We have communicated our say to the chief minister, now it is for him to take a decision,” added Parab. Meanwhile, Tawade questioned why these charges had been raked up by the Shiv Sena after two rounds of talks between the parties.