Mumbai: Diplomatically and tersely Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah on Sunday laid down the alliance formula before a fidgety Shiv Sena, flagging it with an disheartening template of Devendra Fadnavis heading the new government which has a three-fourth majority. Sources in the BJP disclosed that Shah’s itinerary did not have any meeting with Sena president Uddhav Thackeray over possible seat sharing for the October 21 assembly elections.
The clear statement at public seminar in the afternoon on the abrogation of Article 370 in Mumbai clearly indicated the seat sharing formula and who would be the next Chief Minister. The statement must be a dampener for the Sena which has been cautiously projecting Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray as its chief ministerial candidate and had even begun scouting for a safe seat for him. Sources disclosed that Shah will only step in the picture to announce the seat sharing, if at all the Sena accepts its proposal, leaving it to the state leadership to hold talks with the Sena leadership.
Sources in the BJP revealed that the three-fourth majority mark meant that the seat sharing formula put forth by the Sena two decades ago while cementing the alliance has been turned on its head. The Sena which then considered itself as the big brother and constantly reminded the BJP of it, used to contest 171 seats, offering 117 seats to the BJP which was its junior alliance partner then. Another condition of the old pact was that whoever won the maximum number of seats staked claim to the chief ministers post. The Sena till 2014 assembly elections contested more seats, won more seats than the BJP and staked claim to the coveted post in 1995, sources pointed out.
In the 2014 assembly elections the BJP won 122 seats and the Sena won 63 seats. Sources in the BJP argued that there is no question of the party foregoing any of its 122 seats won by it. Leaving aside the seats won by both the parties, the remainder of the seats after accommodating their respective allies will be shared equally by the two between them. Shah in a way has reminded the Sena that the two decade old equations have changed and the BJP is now the big brother and is offering 117 odd seats to the Sena.
Moreover, sources in the BJP further argued that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by once again pitching for the Nanar mega oil refinery project has indicated that infrastructure projects opposed by the Sena will go ahead. The BJP top brass has not taken it kindly the Sena opposition to big ticket infrastructure projects like Jaitapur, Nanar, Metro 3 car shed at Aarey and Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train.
