MH-SENA-NAIDU

No guarantee of Oppn 'alliance' staying intact by May 23: Sena
    Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) The Shiv Sena on Monday hit out
at the opposition parties for trying to come together to keep
the BJP out of power after the Lok Sabha poll results, saying
the country cannot afford to have a coalition government
"crawling" with the support of several small outfits.
    Taking a swipe at TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu's
efforts to forge an alliance of opposition parties, it said he
was unnecessarily exhausting himself by running from pillar to
post as there was no guarantee of this "possible coalition"
staying intact by the time results are out on May 23.
    Elections to 542 seats of the 543-member Lok Sabha
ended Sunday and the counting of votes is slated for Thursday.
    Most exit polls have forecast another term for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, with some of them projecting that the
BJP-led NDA would get over 300 seats to comfortably cross the
majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha.
    "The 'Mahagathbandhan' (proposed grand alliance of
opposition parties) has at least five prime ministerial
hopefuls...their hopes are likely to be dashed going by the
current indications," the Sena said in an editorial in party
mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
    "The country cannot afford to have a coalition
government crawling with the help of several small parties,"
it opined.
    Referring to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu
Naidu's meetings with several opposition leaders in the last
few days, the Sena said some people think after the
declaration of results, the situation in Delhi (Centre) would
be unstable and "they want to benefit out of it".
    "The opposition has assumed the BJP would not come to
power, so they are trying hard to gain support of all possible
parties to keep the BJP out of power," it said.
    "Naidu is trying for a coalition but in reality, his
efforts are going to be futile. He met NCP chief Sharad Pawar
twice in Delhi, but there is no guarantee of this possible
coalition continuing to stay intact by May 23 evening," said
the Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
    It claimed the Left parties were unlikely to open
their account in West Bengal, and the Aam Aadmi Party was
expected to meet a similar fate in Punjab, Delhi and Haryana.
    The Left's base in Kerala was also likely to shrink
further, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.
    "Naidu himself had a hard time in Andhra Pradesh where
YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy seems to be putting up a
strong contest. In AP's neighbouring Telangana, compared to
Naidu's TDP and the Congress, the TRS led by K Chandrasekhar
Rao is likely to secure a major win," it said. PTI ND
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