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The Bharatiya Janata Party is working on a plan to forge a broad alliance of non-Congress and non-Nationalist Congress Party grouping in Maharashtra to neutralise the adverse impact of the split in the Shiv Sena.
Efforts are on to persuade Sena supremo Bal Thackeray to allow inclusion of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), four-year-old splinter group led by his nephew Raj Thackeray, into the BJP-Sena alliance.
While conceding that Mr. Bal Thackeray's party have serious reservations about taking the MNS on board, BJP leaders argue that but for the division of the Sena votes, the Congress-NCP alliance would not have captured power in the October 2009 Assembly elections.
In an informal chat here with journalists at a lunch hosted by party leader Vijay Goel, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said consultations with the parties concerned, including the Sena, were at an initial stage.
After losing two successive elections the BJP-Sena alliance must see the reality, said Mr. Gadkari. “As much as 30 per cent of our vote has been lost in some constituencies because of the presence of the MNS as a spoiler.”
Other party leaders, however, indicated that the formation of a broad alliance would not happen without Sena consent. “There is no question of the BJP doing anything at the expense of the Sena. After all, we have been together for 22 years.”
The view in the BJP is that Sena executive president Udhhav Thackeray has been stonewalling efforts at reconciliation or seat-sharing with the MNS. “In the coming municipal polls he may once again go it alone. But, if the Sena again fails to do well, he may see the writing on the wall and accept the idea of a three-way alliance,” a BJP leader said, adding he hoped that it would materialise well ahead of the 2014 Assembly battle.
BJP to approach RPI
The BJP also intends wooing the Republican Party of India led by Ramdas Athawale to join the proposed alliance. The idea essentially is to ensure that non-Congress-NCP votes are not split. As per the assessment of the party, the BJP-Sena alliance lost 43 seats in the 2009 election, thanks to MNS presence in the fray. This despite a rise in the percentage of votes polled by the BJP. The rebel Sena faction polled nearly seven per cent of the votes.
BJP leader Gopinath Munde, who favours the party joining hands with the MNS, told journalists at a news conference here: “We want to prevent a division of votes. It is an effort from our side. [But] it will happen only if the Shiv Sena agrees.”
Efforts are on to persuade Sena supremo Bal Thackeray to allow inclusion of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), four-year-old splinter group led by his nephew Raj Thackeray, into the BJP-Sena alliance.
While conceding that Mr. Bal Thackeray's party have serious reservations about taking the MNS on board, BJP leaders argue that but for the division of the Sena votes, the Congress-NCP alliance would not have captured power in the October 2009 Assembly elections.
In an informal chat here with journalists at a lunch hosted by party leader Vijay Goel, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said consultations with the parties concerned, including the Sena, were at an initial stage.
After losing two successive elections the BJP-Sena alliance must see the reality, said Mr. Gadkari. “As much as 30 per cent of our vote has been lost in some constituencies because of the presence of the MNS as a spoiler.”
Other party leaders, however, indicated that the formation of a broad alliance would not happen without Sena consent. “There is no question of the BJP doing anything at the expense of the Sena. After all, we have been together for 22 years.”
The view in the BJP is that Sena executive president Udhhav Thackeray has been stonewalling efforts at reconciliation or seat-sharing with the MNS. “In the coming municipal polls he may once again go it alone. But, if the Sena again fails to do well, he may see the writing on the wall and accept the idea of a three-way alliance,” a BJP leader said, adding he hoped that it would materialise well ahead of the 2014 Assembly battle.
BJP to approach RPI
The BJP also intends wooing the Republican Party of India led by Ramdas Athawale to join the proposed alliance. The idea essentially is to ensure that non-Congress-NCP votes are not split. As per the assessment of the party, the BJP-Sena alliance lost 43 seats in the 2009 election, thanks to MNS presence in the fray. This despite a rise in the percentage of votes polled by the BJP. The rebel Sena faction polled nearly seven per cent of the votes.
BJP leader Gopinath Munde, who favours the party joining hands with the MNS, told journalists at a news conference here: “We want to prevent a division of votes. It is an effort from our side. [But] it will happen only if the Shiv Sena agrees.”