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It’s official: RPI, Shiv Sena in alliance

Announcement put off till October to coincide with the beginning of campaign for civic polls.

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The alliance between the foremost Dalit faction and the saffron party will be announced in October this year, just before campaigning for 2012 BMC elections commences.

Shiv Sena and Republican Party of India (RPI) on Monday postponed the announcement after RPI chief Ramdas Athavale and Sena supremo Bal Thackeray held talks for about 45 minutes at the latter’s residence, Matoshri. Both sides, while confirming the alliance, announced that Shivshakti and Bhimshakti will launch statewide agitations against the government on issues ranging from corruption, inflation, unemployment and the Jaitapur nuclear plant.

“In last three months, I travelled across state to know what RPI activists feel about the alliance. There is a need for these two forces to come together to defeat the present state government, which has been using Dalits just as a vote bank,” said Athavale. He added that, Monday’s discussions were positive in terms of deciding common minimum program for the possible alliance. “The official announcement will be made in October this year,” he said.

Though both the parties mentioned the need of an alliance for wider public interest, the move to postpone the alliance announcement is considered as an attempt to measure the reaction of party activists, especially of Sena, to the possible alliance.

Initially the meeting between the two parties was decided for Saturday last week. Sena chief Bal Thackeray was, however, more vocal about the alliance when he said “Do not worry about it. It will happen, when it needs to happen”.

Taking dig at the Congress government, he said that, the government has no worries about its people. “They are in their own world. What is happening in Noida, will happen in Jaitapur, if the government continues. Our alliance will do what is necessary,’ said Thackeray.

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