Ramdas Athawale attempts Sena-BJP patchup; warns Uddhav of NCP-Cong, tells BJP to split CM

Union Minister and Republican Party of India (A) chief Ramdas Athawale on Monday said the Shiv Sena was being adamant in its political bickering and suggested that any alliance with NCP-Congress will harm the party in the longer run. Athawale who is a member of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra and is the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment was speaking to reporters outside Parliament. He asserted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will continue to expand and called on Sena to join hands again.

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"We wanted a BJP-Sena government to last for five years in the state. But now, Sena is being adamant. They are on a pursuit to have its CM and so they are tying up with Congress-NCP. If with their support, Uddhav Ji becomes CM, then it'll not be a tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray... Such an alliance will be Shiv Sena's mistake and in the longer run, will suffer the damage," Athawale said. He has been a strong proponent of the two saffron parties back coming together in the Mahayuti, of which his RPI is part of. 

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Call for compromise

Ramdas Athawale on Sunday suggested that the BJP needs to think of sharing the post of Chief Minister with Shiv Sena for the sake of government formation in Maharashtra. Athawale was speaking to ANI after attending the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting at the Parliament House in New Delhi. "They should sit together and find a solution. BJP needs to think of offering CM post to Sena for a few years if it can bring a solution," said Ramdas asserting that the two parties must compromise and get back together as allies.

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BJP-Shiv Sena fallout

The BJP-Shiv Sena's 'Mahyuti' of 35 years fell out at the state-level with Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray insisting a 50-50 sharing of Chief Minister post for 2.5 years and portfolios and former CM Devendra Fadnavis refusing those demands. Both parties are eyeing to form the next government separately in Maharashtra which is currently under President's rule. While the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress is still in talks to finalise the Common Minimum Programme to form an alliance, the BJP has vowed that it will form the next government. The Mahayuti alliance which swept Maharashtra on October 24, winning a combined tally of 161 (BJP- 105, Sena -56). The NCP, meanwhile, won 54 seats while the Congress won 44 seats. 

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