Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in his weekly column Rokhthok in the party mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday reiterated that there is no room for any patch-up between Shiv Sena and BJP in Maharashtra saying that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is the political future of the state. He clarified that there is no truth in speculations about an "under the table deal" for a reunion of the BJP and Sena.
Raut said the Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in his address to Shiv Sainiks on January 23 had given a befitting reply to BJP, which is criticizing him over his illness. "The message from his speech was that the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, is the political future of Maharashtra, and there is no truth in speculations that there was an under the table deal happening between the Shiv Sena and BJP and they could get back together," Raut said.
Thackeray's speech and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis's (BJP) response to it have made the state's politics clear and there is no room for confusion, he said.
Notably, Fadnavis had claimed the Shiv Sena grew politically when it was in alliance with the BJP. "There is no possibility of a Shiv Sena-BJP reunion after Fadnavis's response," said Raut who has been at the forefront to take on BJP’s attack against Thackeray and the MVA government.
He lashed out at Fadnavis for claiming that the Shiv Sena grew politically because of the BJP, Raut said the Sena was formed in 1966 and the BJP in 1980. "More than the year of birth, what is important is what one has achieved,’’ he said.
Raut in a sarcastic comment said the MVA is here to stay and the BJP will have to spend many years around the Raj Bhavan referring to the BJP approaching the Governor to make representations against the state government.
Raut said the MVA together outpaced the BJP in the recently held nagar panchayat elections saying that these results should act as pointers to both MVA and BJP. ‘’The BJP did get more seats, but the MVA parties collectively were ahead of the BJP. This shows that whenever the state Assembly elections are held, the MVA's majority of 170 seats in the 288 member state assembly will continue to stay," he said. "This is the mindset of Maharashtra," he noted.
Meanwhile, BJP has hit out at Shiv Sena saying that the party is now turned itself into Sonia Sena. Former minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said BJP had an alliance with Balasaheb Thackeray led Shiv Sena which was an ardent advocate of Hindutva.
