Sources said differences between the two have now boiled down to who will contest from 10 seats that both parties want.
Maharashtra assembly elections have been announced for October 21, but there is still no clarity over a pre-poll alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena. According to sources, a late-night meeting between leaders of both the parties on Monday remained inconclusive, while a joint press conference which was scheduled to be held on Tuesday has been deferred till further intimation.
Sources said differences between the two have now boiled down to who will contest from 10 seats that both parties want. Attempts are on from both sides to arrive at a conclusion at the earliest.
Sena leader Sanjay Raut made a hyperbolic comment on the situation, saying, "Itna bada Maharashtra hai, ye jo 288 seats ka bantwara hai, ye Bharat-Pakistan ke bantware se bhi bhayankar hai [It's such a big state and the division of these 28 seats is more terrifying than India-Pakistan partition.] Had we sat in Opposition instead of being in the government, the picture would have been different. Whatever decision we take about seats, we'll let you know."
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil was more to the point while remarking on a poll deal. "Discussions on alliance is at the last stage. Those who are thinking that alliance will not happen are going to be disappointed. I am confident that we [NDA] will win 220 seats in the upcoming assembly elections."
Earlier reports had suggested that Shiv Sena had agreed to contest on 120-125 seats. This was a diversion from its initial stand on going for a fifty-fifty formula.
In a bid to pressure the BJP, the NDA constituent had reportedly started interviewing candidates for all 288 constituencies, including Nagpur, which is the seat of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Currently, the BJP and Sena have 122 and 63 seats, respectively, in Maharashtra assembly.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had last week dismissed reports of a rift between the two parties, saying they would finalise the seat-sharing agreement for the assembly elections "very soon".
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