BJP Needs Introspection if it Can't Honour its Word, Says Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut Ahead of Maharashtra Polls

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said the BJP needs to introspect if it cannot honour its commitment, and asserted that the seat-sharing formula with the BJP for Maharashtra Assembly polls was decided before the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.

Asked whether the Shiv Sena will have an alliance with the BJP for next month's state polls, Raut told reporters here that his party is always "positive" in its thinking.

"The seat-sharing formula for the state Assembly elections was decided before the Lok Sabha polls...If the BJP is not true to its commitment and word given, then it needs introspection," he said.

"Maharashtra is the land of (warrior king) Shivaji Maharaj, and here commitment given is importance. We have worked with (BJP leaders) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pramod Mahajan, L K Advani. They always honoured the commitments given," the Rajya Sabha member said.

The Shiv Sena has maintained that the seat-sharing formula was decided during the Lok Sabha elections, where the two parties had a pre-poll alliance.

According to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, this meant equal distribution of seats and sharing of the chief minister's post for two-and-a-half years.

The saffron allies are currently locked in an intense negotiation on seat-sharing and a consensus has eluded them till now on how many constituencies each of them will contest.

Maharashtra has 288 Assembly seats, of which the BJP won 122 and the Sena 63 in the 2014 state polls, which they fought separately.

A few months later, the Sena joined the government led by Fadnavis, the first BJP chief minister of the state.

The Shiv Sena has been insisting on 50:50 division of seats, but the BJP does not appear to be amiable to this deal.

If an alliance formalises, the two parties also have to accommodate smaller allies which are part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Addressing a rally here on Sunday, BJP president Amit Shah lauded Fadnavis for his performance over last five years and asserted he will continue to hold the top post after elections, which he claimed, the NDA will win with a three-fourth majority.