Shiv Sena vows to end ties with BJP, Fadnavis says ‘let’s wait, they say many things’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be down playing the announcement by the Shiv Sena to sever ties in 2019 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections. Responding to the development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that the BJP would wait and watch the situation as of now.

Speaking to ANI, Fadnavis said, “Let’s wait. They have been saying many things.” He also expressed confidence that his government would complete its full term. “As of now we are in alliance in the government and the government will complete its five years,” said Fadnavis.

The Maharashtra CM added that he was also confident of getting the next term.

#WATCH 'Lets wait, they have been saying many things, as of now we are in alliance in the Govt and this Govt will complete its term' says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in #Davos on Shiv Sena going alone in 2019 pic.twitter.com/JEPm6Wcy5g

— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2018

This comes after the Shiv Sena on Tuesday passed a resolution to end ties with the BJP for upcoming elections. According to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the party has decided to fight elections alone for the cause of Hindutva.

“We will fight elections in every state for the cause of Hindutva. I take this vow today,” he said.

He also used the opportunity to launch a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his foreign visits, saying “PM calls himself Pant Pradhan, but all he does is travel abroad”.

Thackeray also questioned the recent visit of Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu to Gujarat. Targeting PM Modi, he said, “He (Narendra Modi) took Israeli PM to Ahmedabad, why not to Lal Chowk in Srinagar? Why couldn't he have done a roadshow in Srinagar? Had he hoisted tricolour in Lal chowk, we would have felt sense of pride towards our PM.”

#WATCH Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray speaking at Party's national executive meeting in Mumbai https://t.co/0sqKAuSckG

— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2018

The resolution to end ties between the two parties was introduced at the national executive by senior party leader Sanjay Raut, and passed unanimously. He said that the two parties had allied in the name of Hindutva. He said that while the Shiv Sena kept patience for Hindutva, the BJP demoralised the party in the last three years by using power.

As of now, the Shiv Sena has 63 seats while the BJP has 122 seats in 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

The split between the two parties was earlier out in the open during the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, where BJP and Shiv Sena contested independently. It was a neck-and-neck fight between the two as Sena won 84 seats while the BJP was a close second with 82.