Shiv Sena ready to concede more seats to BJP

Though the nominations for the Maharashtra assembly polls began on Saturday, a seat-sharing formula continued to elude the Shiv Sena- BJP led six-party rainbow coalition. Sena sources indicated that they were willing to concede some more seats to their allies to save the alliance. Maharashtra BJP core committee members on Saturday spent the entire morning and afternoon at B-4, the official residence of Eknath Khadse, leader of opposition in state legislative assembly, to discuss the issue.

The series of discussions held by state leaders in presence of BJP Parliamentary committee members like Rajiv Pratap Rudy, O P Mathur and V Satish did not bring any viable alternative to offer Sena, since the latter has been adamant about the numbers it wants to contest. The Shiv Sena, which is seeking to assert its pre-eminence and status of a senior partner, is not willing to scale down its insistence on contesting from 150 seats in a battle of nerves which will decide the power equations in the alliance in the days to come.