BJP rejects Sena's offer of 119 seats in Maharashtra

State BJP leaders expects Central Parliamentary Board to take a final call on poll alliance with Shiv Sena

There is no end in sight to the deadlock between Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the seat-sharing for the election to the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly slated for October 15. Shiv Sena on Sunday offered a new seat-sharing formula of 151:119, indicating it wanted its 25-year-old alliance with the BJP to continue. According to this formula announced by party chief Uddhav Thackeray here at the state executive meeting, Shiv Sena, which had contested 169 seats in the 2009 polls, will fight 151 seats and leave 18 seats to other allies including the Republican Party of India, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Shiv Sangram. It has offered BJP 119 seats, the same quota as in the last Assembly poll.

However, the BJP turned down this formula saying it was quite unhappy. The BJP insisted for another formula whereby Shiv Sena will fight 140 seats, the BJP 130 and 18 seats for the Maha Yuti allies. The BJP reminded Shiv Sena that it was the BJP, which has made sacrifice during the past 25 years in the larger interest of the alliance. The BJP has now left final decision on its alliance with the Shiv Sena on its Central Parliamentary Board.

At stake is the post of the chief minister, which will go to the party with most legislators if the coalition wins.

Thackeray said: “We can give the BJP 119 seats and 18 to other smaller parties. BJP's O P Mathur was trying to negotiate on seats. I reminded them they are not givers but takers on this land. We are making a last attempt to save the alliance. Regardless of whether alliance stays or not, we will fight everywhere. Victory will be ours.”

Thackeray admitted the spat over seat-sharing was ‘unfortunate’. Further, he noted: “There is a tug-of-war in the alliance. What is happening right before elections is unfortunate. Seat distribution is a complicated affair.”

The BJP's leader of opposition in the state Assembly, Eknath Khadse, said: “We are not happy with the offer given to us by the Shiv Sena. It did not compromise on the seats that they gave us. We just want the seats that they never win.”

He further stated the BJP's winning percentage is 65, while it is 45 per cent for Shiv Sena.

Khadse and his counterpart in the state council Vinod Tawde would attend the party's Central Parliamentary Board meeting.

Earlier, Thackeray offered the final seat-sharing formula after the BJP had rejected the Shiv Sena's formula of 155:126 given on Saturday evening.

Thackeray said the seat distribution exercise among the Maha Yuti partners would have completed by now and the poll campaign would have started, but for the dispute over seats. He added the Shiv Sena's list of candidates is ready and it can be announced at any moment. He clarified the party is waiting to resolve the deadlock over seat-sharing arrangement. On the other hand, Khadse insisted that the BJP wants Shiv Sena to discuss the possibility of exchanging 59 seats which Shiv Sena never won since 1990 Assembly polls and 19 seats, which BJP failed to bag.

He argued the Shiv Sena could give some of these seats to the BJP instead of allowing these to add to the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party tally.

Tawde said: “The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is very old. Seat sharing needs to be such that the Congress-NCP is defeated. Such issues need to be discussed face to face.”

Khadse admitted there been strong pressure from the BJP cadre not to surrender to Shiv Sena, but make all-out efforts to get more seats. ''It is BJP which has made sacrifice during last 25 years in the larger interest of the alliance,'' he noted.