MH-SENA-CHAVAN

Sena rejects Chavan's claim of coalition bid after 2014 polls
    Mumbai, Jan 22 (PTI) The Shiv Sena on Wednesday denied
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan's claim that the Uddhav
Thackeray-led party approached the Congress after the 2014
state polls to form a coalition to keep the BJP out of power,
saying such a proposal had "no value" at that time.
    The Sena, however, also said that its tie-up with the
Congress and NCP after the last year's Assembly elections
materalised because NCP chief Sharad Pawar did not allow
"BJP's political machinations" to succeed and Congress
president Sonia Gandhi did not reject the alliance proposal.
    Taking to PTI earlier this week, senior Congress
leader Chavan claimed the Shiv Sena proposed to form a
coalition with his party and the NCP after the 2014 state
polls to stop the BJP from coming to power. But, the Congress
then immediately rejected the proposal, he said.
    An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Wednesday
rejected the claim, saying the Shiv Sena, BJP, Congress and
NCP contested the 2014 state Assembly polls separately.
    "There is no logic in what Chavan has said. The claim
should have evaporated in Mumbai's mild winter breeze. The
Shiv Sena and NCP didn't take the claim seriously. But, BJP's
Devendra Fadnavis criticised the Shiv Sena, saying Chavan had
exposed the party," it said.
    Fadnavis, who is now leader of opposition in the
Assembly, on Monday said Chavan's remarks were very surprising
and revealed the "true face" of the Shiv Sena, which in
November last year formed government in the state along with
the Congress and NCP.
    The Sena said in the four-cornered contest to the 288
-member state Assembly in 2014, the BJP got 122 seats, the
Shiv Sena bagged 63, while the Congress and NCP 42 and 41
seats, respectively.
    The Congress was relegated to the third position.
Under Chavan's leadership, the party had "lost miserably and
had no voice", it noted.
    "There was no question of approaching the Congress for
government formation. The Shiv Sena had made up its mind to be
in the opposition," it said.
    Notably, after the 2014 polls, BJP ran the government
but later the Thackeray-led party also joined it.
    The Shiv Sena in its editorial recalled that after the
2014 polls, NCP leader Praful Patel offered his party's
support to the BJP.
    This exposed the "real face" of the BJP which had
snapped ties with the Shiv Sena before the Assembly polls, it
claimed.
    "Even if the three parties had come together, the
tally would have been very close to the majority mark (of
145). This was dangerous and the BJP would have tried to pull
down the government," the Marathi publication said.
    After the last year's state polls, the BJP has to sit
in the opposition despite getting 105 seats as the "masks on
its face continue to come off", the Shiv Sena claimed without
elaborating.
    "This time, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi took shape
because Sharad Pawar did not allow BJP's political
machinations to succeed and Sonia Gandhi did not reject the
alliance proposal. In 2014, such a proposal had no value," the
Sena said. PTI MR
GK GK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)