The move is also aimed at not giving the Shiv Sena an excuse to walk away from the alliance with the BJP, or to allow the Congress to muddy waters
Days after leading the Bharatiya Janata Party to a spectacular performance in the recently held civic polls in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as other Central ministers, including Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari. He is understood to have apprised the PM of the political situation in the state during their 90-minute meeting. He also discussed the fallout of the stalemate in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after the recent elections. The duo also discussed the issue of the Mumbai mayor’s election.
BJP sources here said that in order to break the deadlock on the mayor’s election, the party may extend outside support to the Shiv Sena, which emerged as the leading party in the BMC elections. “The message from the PM was not to go for unnatural alliances,” a BJP leader said, implying that the Shiv Sena, although alienated, continued to be a ‘natural partner’.
The move is also aimed at not giving the Shiv Sena an excuse to walk away from the alliance with the BJP, or to allow the Congress to muddy waters. Sources here said the party will reveal its cards in Mumbai in a day or two. It is also believed that continuing a hostile attitude towards the Sena is not in the interests of the BJP, keeping in view that the Congress was out to take advantage of such a situation.
The BJP and the Sena, which are partners in the Central and state governments, were locked in a bitter contest in the run-up to the BMC polls, which they contested separately. Immediately after the election results were out on February 23, the Sena, having grabbed the highest number of seats (84) in the 227-member BMC, had staked claim to the mayoral post. The BJP, which made substantial gains from its previous tally of 31 seats, lagged the Sena by a slender margin of two seats.
Modi and Fadnavis are also believed to have discussed the tussle with the Sena in detail. Though the BJP had staked claim for the mayor’s post, party sources said it was felt that extending support to the Shiv Sena’s candidate was in the party’s best interests.
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