BJP-Shiv Sena to re-unite in Maharashtra: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday confirmed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena have decided to re-forge their alliance in the state.

"We have decided to continue the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and form the government in Maharashtra together. Twelve ministers from the Shiv Sena will join the government, out of which five Cabinet Ministers and seven Ministers of State will join the alliance," Fadnavis told the media here.

"We have also decided that because we have received the public support against the Congress and the NCP, we should respect it and thus we will also take forward our alliance in elections like that of municipal corporations, Panchayats and so on. We will form a new committee and divide seats accordingly," he added.

Fadnavis further said that the public support which the BJP got in Maharashtra during the assembly elections proved to grassroot workers and leaders of both the parties that the BJP-Shiv Sena should together carry forward the government in the state.

"We formed the government in Maharashtra because it was important to do so, but talks were still continuing regarding the re-forging of the alliance. I called up Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and said that talks for an alliance must be held. He too felt positively about it," Fadnavis said.

Earlier this year, the BJP and the Shiv Sena snapped their 25-year alliance ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls over a seat-sharing disagreement. The declaration of the results saw the BJP emerge as the single largest party with 122 seats in the 288-member assembly, yet falling short of achieving absolute majority. The Shiv Sena had finished second with 63 seats.