Uddhav Thackeray's final offer: 151 for us, 119 for you; BJP says no way

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray put forward a final proposal to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday: the Sena would contest 151 seats, giving 18 seats from its quota to the other four alliance partners, and the BJP should fight 119 seats. The BJP’s state unit rejected the offer and prefers to go it alone. Now, the focus is on BJP president Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi.

So, is the alliance breaking?

At the BJP’s CEC meeting in New Delhi, a “majority” of the 288 seats were discussed, a party leader said. He didn’t specify the number of seats discussed. Amit Shah has been authorised to finalise the list of candidates. “There was a review and briefing on the Maharashtra situation which was discussed threadbare. There was a general consensus that effort should be made to keep the alliance in place but the onus should not be on the BJP alone,” Rajiv Pratap Rudy, general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra said after the meeting.

What is Uddhav’s argument?

“I don’t agree to giving 135 seats to the BJP since the Sena is also growing. It’s unfortunate that we are still discussing seat-sharing when we should have been campaigning. The Shiv Sena and the BJP have entered into an alliance for Hindutva and this Diwali would be celebrated in the state as Saffron Diwali,” he says.

What is BJP’s stand?

BJP leaders Eknath Khadse and Vinod Tawde rejected Uddhav’s proposal. Khadse says the BJP has been contesting 119 seats and wants a discussion on 59 seats, which the Sena have been losing for the last 25 years. His second point is that the BJP had given the Rajya Sabha seat to RPI leader Ramdas Athawale, sacrificing Prakash Javadekar’s seat, for keeping the alliance intact.

What’s this talk about Pratibha Patil?

BJP leaders say the Shiv Sena supported Congress candidate Pratibha Patil in the last presidential elections. To this, Uddhav said, “I am proud for the same as the Shiv Sena supported the first Maharashtrian woman to become the president of this country. I will be proud of this till my last breath.”

What is Uddhav’s counter-point?

Uddhav says after Narendra Modi became Gujarat chief minister, Godhra riots happened. “It was a scene which reminded one of partition days. There was a demand to remove Modi and BJP leader L K Advani met Balasaheb Thackeray. It was Balasaheb who saved Modi,” says Uddhav.

Which are the other four partners?

The Republican Party of India (Athawale faction), Swabhimani Party led by Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty, Rashtriya Samaj Party of Mahadev Jankar and Shiv Sangram led by Vinayak Mete.