History of Shiv Sena – BJP Alliance
Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have had an alliance lasting three decades in the Indian State of Maharashtra. The Sena party dominated their collaboration which began in 1989 and rumored to be that of convenience. The Sena dominated the alliance for two decades then starting losing ground to the BJP since 2007. In 2014, riding on the Narendra Modi wave, the BJP won 122 seats while Sena won 62 seats pitting BJP as the senior partner. BJPs win came out of their friendly tone for businesses in the State and locally. Through to 2017, Sena has expressed its differences with the BJP siting threats to break their alliance in 2017. It is evident that the coalition was for convenience not to allow Congress to have majority seats in the State.
Reasons for Rift in the Alliance
Shiv Sena has claimed that the BJP has demoralized their alliance for the last three years. Sena has questioned the leadership and policies of its ally for quite some time. They termed the policies unsatisfactory and made to benefit BJP. It could also be assumed that the Sena Party feels inferior to BJP ever since the begun clenching majority seats in 2014.
Shiv Sena Resolution
Through a resolution, Shiv Sena has resolved to part ways with its long-term ally – BJP. The party has also decided that without being a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), they will contest Maharashtra and Lok Sabha Assembly election in 2019. Shiv Sena national executive was presented with the party’s proposal to quit the alliance through the party leader, Sanjay Raut. The executive voted and passed the motion unanimously.
Shiv Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray later reiterated that the party would fight solo in all the states. The party has 63 seats while its former allies have 122 seats. The two parties are not alliance as they failed to meet the seat sharing formulae after the 2014 Assembly elections.
The Way Forward
Both parties are part of an NDA in Lok Sabha. Sena holds just 18 seats and while its former ally holds 274 seats. Earlier, during the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the rift between the two parties was evident when they went into the polls independently. Sena garnered 84 seats while the BJP got 82 seats. The numbers give Shiv Sena hope in the 2019 elections.
