The Maharashtra party has dropped adequate hint to BJP that it cannot be taken for granted and it is free to chart its own path for next year's Lok Sabha elections.
Shiv Sena's move to abstain from voting did help the government as it brought down the number needed to prove majority, but the upset ally has embarrassed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) by not voting against the Opposition's no-trust motion.
The Maharashtra party has dropped adequate hint to BJP that it cannot be taken for granted and it is free to chart its own path for next year's Lok Sabha elections. Sena signaled that it will go solo and BJP should not waste time offering an olive branch.
Sena, which is playing a second fiddle at the Centre and in Maharashtra while sharing power with BJP, also sent a message that the party will not rock the boat and destabilise the government.
Instead, it reiterated that it will continue to corner the government on people's issues. Sena said it was the second-largest group in NDA and therefore its stand had assumed extraordinary significance. Sena had withdrawn its earlier whip that had asked all its 18 MPs to support the government.
It later issued a fresh one asking them to await further directive from the party high command.
A party MP, who is close to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, told DNA, "BJP without holding any formal talks assumed that Sena will support the Modi government. This did not go down well. Being the second-largest group in NDA, our stand had assumed extraordinary significance. BJP should have talked to Thackeray instead of taking Sena's support for granted.''
He said that Sena's support or opposition would not have mattered much as BJP has adequate numbers. Besides, the issue was restricted to TDP's protest against the Centre's not offering special status to Andhra Pradesh.
Another MP said that BJP president Amit Shah's recent meeting with Thackeray did not cut any ice. ''Sena is gearing up to fight Lok Sabha polls independently as per the resolution passed by the party's national executive. BJP is under attack from various quarters on a range of issues, including economic slow down, lynching and rape incidents and a flip-flop in foreign policy. Sena does not want to be party to such criticism,'' he said.
However, party observers argue that Sena cannot escape from a barrage of criticism. Besides, Sena should not underestimate BJP's might in the ensuing general elections.
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