Sena, BJP to rein in leaders who assert on future CM's post

After nearly drawing battle-lines over the post of next chief minister of Maharashtra, the BJP and the Shiv Sena seem to be standing down for now and are trying to rein in motormouths whose statements are causing heartburn between both the allies ahead of the assembly polls.

A senior leader of the Sena Sunday confirmed that strict instructions will be issued to party workers asking them to refrain from making any statement that would damage the relations between the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and the BJP.

A BJP leader also conceded that some leaders of the party should not have made statements asserting that the CM's post would be retained by the BJP if the NDA returns to power after the elections, due in September-October this year.

"It has been communicated to BJP leadership in Delhi and some state leaders may be reprimanded. The concern of the BJP is not to hurt Sena leadership at this moment," he said.

Recently, some Sena leaders said the next chief minister would be from their party.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's claim on the issue of the future chief ministership was denounced by BJP minister Girish Mahajan who had said that Sena leaders won from certain seats in recent Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra because of the BJP.

"The BJP has been a big brother in the state and it was our party that helped Sena candidates in some constituencies, where that party had a weaker network.

"If you look at the strong network of BJP across the state and also going by the elections that we have won on our own in last five years, there is no need to say whose chief minister should be in the state," Mahajan had said Saturday.

Another BJP leader Chandrakant Patil had said that workers of both the parties feel that their party should get the post of chief minister.

"We need to focus on how can we win all the seats that we are contesting," Patil said.

In the 2014 assembly polls, the BJP had won 122 seats and the Sena 63 out of total 288 seats.