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BJP-Sena back to being friends, kind of, in Kalyan

NewsBJP-Sena back to being friends, kind of, in Kalyan
Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar declared on Saturday that the Shiv Sena and BJP will form alliance at the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation. But the disgruntled Shiv Sainiks in Kalyan Dombivali area are trying all the tricks to convey to the party leadership that it should scrap the alliance. The question that remains now is whether Uddhav Thackeray will be able to pacify or at least prevail over the seething anger in the Sena’s lower rungs.
“Right now, Mungantiwar and Eknath Shinde have arrived at a decision. It will be conveyed to Matoshree. The lower rung leadership at KDMC has also been directed to discuss things with each other. There is still a long way to go. But the Sainiks here are upset. They don’t want to enter into an alliance with BJP,” a Sena leader from Dombivali told The Sunday Guardian.
Local Sainiks said they were angry at the way BJP attacked the party during the polls. “To add to it, the way they hounded the Sainiks and pressed charges against them. The behaviour was totally unbecoming of a partner. We don’t want to be with them,” another Sainik said.
Moreover, there is a feeling in the Sena that the BJP isn’t adhering to “yuti dharma”. “Here, they say they want to be our allies. On the other hand, they quietly file their nomination papers for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor. Why didn’t they consult us before taking the step?” asked a Shiv Sainik.
Local Sainiks said they were angry at the way BJP attacked the party during the polls and wanted to scrap the alliance.
The BJP on Saturday filed nomination papers for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.
But the BJP leadership said the message was very clear from Matoshri. “They are willing for an alliance with us. After all, we are natural allies,” a senior BJP leader told The Sunday Guardian. He also added that since the party had earned 42 seats in KDMC, it will not compromise on its claim on the post of the mayor. The Shiv Sena has won 52 seats in the house of 122 members.
The Sena wants the Aurangabad pattern to be implemented, wherein their leader will be the mayor for four years. But the BJP leaders have outright rejected the pattern.
“We want to be together, but not at the cost of our interest. We too could have formed the government with outside help. We were working on it. But when there was a signal that an alliance was desirable, we went with it,” said a BJP leader.
According to highly placed party sources, the alliance has been scripted by none other than Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray.
When asked about what made the alliance a reality, BJP national spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, “Pressure from the grassroots workers to come together, and political realities, led to the decision.”
Moreover, a section within BJP was not as comfortable dealing with the other parties for formation of government. “We are natural allies,” Raosaheb Danve told reporters. But the fate of a healthy alliance lies away from these leaders, amid the sparring local cadre.
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