BJP to tie up with EVMs: Shiv Sena’s dig on Amit Shah’s will defeat ex-allies remark

BJP chief Amit Shah’s statement that the Shiv Sena will suffer defeat in Maharashtra if it doesn’t opt for a tie-up in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has made its bickering ally see red.

The Shiv Sena said Shah’s comments show that the BJP doesn’t want an alliance with those who believe in Hindutva and will perhaps ally with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead.

Sena also said that its chief Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to Ayodhya and his stand on Ram Mandir has made the BJP is worried.

“Amit Shah’s provocative statement has exposed him and his party. Shiv Sena chief (Uddhav Thackeray) had expressed the sentiments of the people by saying ‘pehle mandir fir sarkar’ but…it seems that BJP does not want people who believe in Hindutva,” said the statement by a Sena spokesperson.

On Sunday, Shah told party workers to not worry about an alliance and instead prepare to “root out” the opposition. “Nobody can beat the BJP, which has 11 crore workers. We shall fight and win all seats in Maharashtra. The party workers should work for the candidates with all their strength in the forthcoming elections,” he said.

The BJP president had



reportedly told party MPs from the state last Thursday that they should be ready to contest the coming elections without an alliance.

Shah and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed a meeting of booth-level workers from Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Hingoli in Latur city, with Fadnavis setting his party workers a target of winning 40 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha

“The BJP would put candidates even in seats contested by allies. So, I urge all party workers to get on the ground and commence preparations in earnest. It is not the job of a party worker to worry about alliances. These matters are the concern of the top brass. Our preparations must be to ensure that the party is victorious in at least 40 of the 48 seats,” Fadnavis said at the closed-door meeting .

The BJP has openly expressed its desire to mend ties with Sena and forge an alliance, however, Sena leaders said no BJP leaders have met the Sena leadership. The Sena and BJP had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as allies, but split at the time of Assembly elections. The Sena joined the state government later. The Sena has been critical of BJP, and leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party have often spoken of contesting the elections alone.