Swamy hopes 'blood brothers' BJP, Shiv Sena will unite

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday expressed the hope that everything would soon be sorted out between his party and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra as the two estranged alliance partners are blood brothers and united in the Hindutva movement.

"It is an invitation and I am sure that silence does not mean no. I have been saying from day one that politically we are blood brothers, the Shiv Sena and BJP. We are one together in the Hindutva movement and we should not separate," said Swamy while reacting to the announcement made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis yesterday that talks with the Shiv Sena would be resumed.

"And I am happy to hear that the Chief Minister has said this and I hope that everything will be worked out very soon," he added.

Fadnavis had earlier on Thursday hinted that the BJP may soon patch up with the Shiv Sena and work together for the state's development.

Fadnavis said talks with the Sena would be done by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil.

The BJP and Shiv Sena had snapped their 25-year alliance in September ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls over a seat-sharing disagreement.

Following the polls, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 122 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. The Shiv Sena finished second with 63 seats while the NCP emerged victorious in 41 seats.