Tie-up on brink as Sena sticks to guns, BJP to give fresh shot

According to highly placed sources, Shah and Modi also met separately where they discussed the ramifications “if the Sena and BJP separate” and what can be done to “salvage” the tie-up.

The BJP has reportedly indicated to the Sena that the alliance would end if its demand for 126 to130 seats was not met. It has proposed 140-144 seats for the Sena and 18 for the allies. Both the central and state BJP were agreed that the Sena’s offer of 119 was not acceptable at any cost.

The Sena, that also held meetings throughout the day, has decided to wait till Monday before making any move. The Maharashtra BJP core committee conveyed to the central leaders that it was ready to contest all the 288 seats in the state in the October 15 elections. While the overall mood in the party is that it should not buckle under the Sena’s pressure, senior leaders are willing to make one last attempt to bring around its ally. Senior leaders and Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh may be deployed to hold negotiations with Uddhav.

While some BJP sources said the bone of contention was not seat-sharing but the Sena’s insistence on announcing Uddhav as the coalition’s chief ministerial candidate, the BJP officially denied it. In a clear signal to its ally, the BJP parliamentary board meeting reviewed its preparations on the 169 seats which were contested by the Sena in the 2009 elections. The BJP had contested 119 seats then.

Similarly, at his meetings at Matoshree with Sena leaders, Uddhav worked on a ‘Plan A’ and ‘Plan B’. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana leader Raju Shetty and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha’s Mahadev Jankar also held meetings with him to save the alliance.

Uddhav raised the 169:119 formula of 2009 to make the argument for his seat-sharing offer Sunday. Under it, nine seats each were to be left by the Sena and BJP for allies Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, Republican Party of India, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Shiv Sangram. “It would mean the Sena getting 160 seats, BJP 110 and allies 18. But I am willing to take one step back and concede nine seats more to the BJP. This would ensure that the BJP’s share remains 119 seats,” he said.

Uddhav added that the BJP had nothing to complain about since the Sena was giving 18 seats from its quota to “accommodate all the smaller alliance partners”. The BJP’s Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Eknath Khadse and his equivalent in the Legislative Council Vinod Tawde, who jointly addressed the media in Delhi, said there was no question of accepting this. “What is the Sena offering?” said Khadse. “Our proposal was 130 seats for the BJP. We can understand if they negotiate on the number. But there has to be some increase from 119 seats.”

The BJP reiterated that it was only asking for some additional seats from the 59 where the Sena had failed to win in the last three consecutive elections. Taking the BJP by surprise, Uddhav also convened a working committee meeting of the Sena on Sunday where he explained to party workers his stand. Striking an emotional chord, he said, “I know my sainiks are willing to give up their lives for the welfare of Maharashtra. So what is leaving some seats to retain the alliance? I know how difficult it is to give away the seats. Yet, in the larger interest of retaining the alliance, I am ready to climb down from 169 seats to 151.”

Even the BJP grudgingly acknowledged it as shrewd politics. However, Khadse added, “The Sena is refusing to account for the political expansion of the BJP in Maharashtra. We had sought equal partnership, meaning 135 seats for each party and 18 for the allies. But to retain the alliance, we agreed to 130 seats. Now, the Sena should also display flexibility.”

Angering the BJP, Uddhav also took a swipe at Narendra Modi, saying that after the 2002 Gujarat riots, his father Bal Thackeray had prevailed on L K Advani not to remove him as Gujarat chief minister. “Everyone knows how terrible the situation was when the Godhra riots took place. Everyone was saying Modi should be immediately removed. It was only Balasaheb who told L K Advani that Modi should stay on as he pursues the Hindutva ideology,” he said.

Just as the Sena did not play a spoilsport in the BJP’s ‘Mission 272’ in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP should now respect the Sena’s ‘Mission 150’ for the Maharashtra elections, Uddhav said. “I want power and I will take it at any cost. But this power is to give Maharashtra something and not to take away, like other parties do,” Uddhav said.

In case the split with the Sena happens, the BJP’s hope is that the NCP too would break its alliance with the Congress. The resultant four-cornered fight in Maharashtra would be advantageous for it, it believes. “That will keep options of post-poll partnerships open,” said a leader.