Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Suresh Navale on Thursday accused the BJP of pressuring Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to toe its line, particularly over seat sharing among the ruling Mahayuti partners.
Navale said the BJP is making an 'Abhimanyu' (warrior from epic Mahabharat) out of Shinde and has laid a 'Chakravyuh' (trap) for him to "finish off" the Shiv Sena. Speaking to a regional news channel, he claimed that sitting Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs like Bhavana Gawli (Yavatmal Washim), Hemant Patil (Hingoli), and Krupal Tumane (Ramtek) were dropped at the behest of the BJP.
The saffron party is making Sena sacrifice its leaders, who had put their political careers at risk and sided with Shinde after he broke away from the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in 2022, Navale said.
The ex-minister asserted that he was not worried about any potential action he might face for speaking against the BJP.
"It (BJP) has made Eknath Shinde's situation similar to that of Abhimanyu and laid a Chakravyuh for him to finish off the Sena," he claimed.
The BJP's state unit is cleverly getting things done by using the name of its central leadership, said the Sena leader. "BJP says surveys and reports were negative (on those seats where Sena had to compromise). It is because of BJP's pressure, we have not yet been able to declare our candidate from Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat," he claimed.
While Sena's Parbhani seat was given to the Rashtriya Samaj Party, Navale said he fears Nashik, another seat won by his party last time, might go to NCP (Ajit Pawar), another Mahayuti partner.
In the assembly polls scheduled for later this year too, BJP might play a similar game to deny tickets to sitting Sena MLAs, he claimed, adding that Shiv Sainiks are worried about the developments.
