Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2014: LK Advani suggests restoring relationship with old ally Shiv Sena

NEW DELHI: The goings on in Maharashtra may entirely be part of an Narendra Modi-Amit Shah gameplan but the veterans of the party are keenly watching the developments.
When it was clear that BJP would fall short of the majority mark in Maharashtra, party’s designated ‘margdarshak’ LK Advani suggested rapprochement with its old ally Shiv Sena to form the government in the state. For sure, his was not the unanimous voice of the old guard. Another leader hoped the split with Sena stays that way because he felt both parties had become incompatible ever since Sena started targeting north Indians in Mumbai.

On Sunday, Advani said that the 25-year-old alliance should not have been broken in the first place. “I hope BJP and Sena will come together. Maharashtra is an important state. It will be good if the old relation is restored,” Advani told mediapersons ruling out an alliance with the NCP. He said it’s sad that the alliance was broken over seat-sharing. This is not the first time that Advani rued the fact that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was broken. Earlier on October 2, while participating in ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ in Ahmedabad, he had said that the BJP should “act as a big brother” and rule at the Centre while allowing regional parties to flourish in the states where they are strong.

However, another senior leader of BJP had different view on the breakup. He told ET that he had been advising the party not to go along with Shiv Sena since it was “too parochial” in its views. He said that he himself had refused to share dais with the Sena leaders ever since they made a hue and cry about throwing north Indians and non-Maharashtrians out of the state.