MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s former deputy chief minister and senior national BJP General Secretary Gopinath Munde said here yesterday that there was no rift between the Shiv Sena and that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sena would fight the next Lok Sabha elections together.
Munde asserted that the BJP has no differences with its alliance partner on the number of seats each party would contest in the Lok Sabha elections. He made it clear that the candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra would be finalized by consensus.
“The BJP would announce the names of its candidates for the next general elections from the state only after consultation with leaders of its saffron ally. There is no difference or dispute over the number of seats to be contested by the BJP and the Shiv Sena in the next elections,” Munde said.
The BJP leader further said that “the BJP would contest 26 seats and the remaining 22 seats will be contested by our alliance partner.” The list of BJP candidates is expected to be cleared only in August, Munde added
Speaking about the prospects of the saffron alliance gaining more seats, Munde said that the people of the state were frustrated and angry with the ruling Congress party and its alliance partner the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
“We will sweep the polls and give a drubbing to the Congress as well NCP candidates in all the places in the state. Even the minority vote bank is going to shift in favor of the BJP and Sena this time,” Munde claimed.
In another development, the state deputy chief minister and home minister, R.R. Patil, said that the possibility of imposing a one-year ban on the entry of controversial Sikh leader and chief of Dera Sauda Baba, Ram Rahim Singh, into Maharashtra cannot be ruled out.
