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BJP's pain can be Shiv Sena's gain

BJP's pain can be Shiv Sena's gain

By Susanta Das | | 17 Sep 2014, 02:57 am
Mumbai, Sept 17 (IBNS): In the aftermath of by-poll setback, the allies are expected to step up the pressure on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who until now showed “high-handedness” to its coalition partners.

For the past few weeks, the row between BJP and its grand ally Shiv Sena over seat-sharing ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections was the talking point of political circles. 

The confrontation gained momentum after the BJP, basking in ‘Modi-wave’ demanded a bulk of the seats' share, which Shiv Sena denied. 
 
With just a month to go to the Maharashtra elections (in October), the two coalition partners of the NDA Government neared to a breakdown after both sides decided to stick to their stands.

Despite stiff opposition from Sena, BJP kept on demanding that two parties should contest in 135 seats apiece out of the 288 Assembly seats, leaving 18 seats for their smaller allies.  
 
In the 2009 state polls, the Sena contested 169 of 288 seats while the BJP was given 119 seats. 
 
BJP also demanded the chief ministerial post. The reason behind saffron party's demand is the "Modi magic" which engulfed the nation four months ago during the Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 42 LS seats in Maharashtra out of the total 48. 
 
Of them BJP won 23 while the Sena won 18. But both of these demands were turned down by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. 
 
Reacting to this, BJP stepped up the pressure on its alliance partner making it clear that failure to comply will mean BJP might go alone in polls. 
 
But instead of bowing down to pressure, the Sena made it clear that equal seat-sharing with its decade old-ally is not possible. 
 
Shiv Sena made it clear that excessive lust leads to divorce and the allies in a coalition must dream of a victory first. 
 
Attacking the coalition partner in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamna’, the Sena chief reiterated that his party is not going to “compromise” on seat-sharing. 
 
But at the same time, he hoped that the coalition will continue, by saying, “Don't want to break alliance with BJP as it's for Hindutva.”

Eariler, the Sena tried to warn BJP, after it performed below par in the Bihar by-elections, where the alliance by NItish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JD-U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)  swept away the seats last month. 
 
But BJP thinktank did’nt pay heed to those short-comings. 
 
They held that Bihar was one-off issue, which will not be repeated. 
 
But Tuesday’s result was a sort of “alarm call” for BJP. 
 
Political experts feel, now BJP has to change its course. 
 
Immediately after the mandate came out, the party said that it will review and introspect the results.

Now, that the BJP has found itself on the wrong foot, its allies like Shiv Sena is  expected to “gain” from the situation. 
 
Observers felt, now BJP cannot afford to lose the coalition before the important Maharashtra polls, especially at a time when the results of the by-polls have shown that Modi-magic is fading away within four months. 
 
They said, BJP now is in no position to bargain. 
 
On Tuesday, right after the mandate came out, which showed BJP suffering a huge setback in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the Shiv Sena advised its partner to draw lessons from its sub-par performance.

"The results are not reflective of the Modi government's performance at the Centre," said a senior Shiv Sena leader, who refused to be named, but also added, "The by-elections should be a lesson for the BJP. Our criticism of the Modi wave is vindicated by these results." 
 
The leader continued, "Can the BJP still demand 135 seats for the Maharashtra elections," also confirming that his party would continue to talk tough on seat sharing. 
 
Not only Shiv Sena, Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) might also be “smiling” at BJP's pain today.
 
Political experts say, apart from introspecting the reasons of loss in by-polls, BJP leaders must study the forecast for upcoming elections.

 

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