Sena (UBT), MNS will Most Certainly form Alliance, Say Their Leaders

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray (PTI)

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has been more vocal about the possible alliance, his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray is reticent

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS will “most certainly” form an alliance for the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra, but the final call on it is likely to take place very close to the elections, leaders from both the parties have said.

While Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has been more vocal about the possible alliance, his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray is reticent.

On Friday, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said his party will form an alliance with the MNS for the civic polls in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, but there has been no word from the MNS on it yet.

“After the July 5 rally, we have reached a point where not getting into an alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) will be a difficult proposition because of the intense public pressure. Now Raj saheb will take a final call on this,” an MNS functionary told media .

Echoing a similar sentiment, a Sena (UBT) leader claimed, “There will be an alliance. But the announcement will come only when the election approaches. This will also help fend off pressure tactics from the BJP.”

Announcing the alliance so soon will mean added pressure of seat-sharing talks. This will rattle the party workers from both sides who are in the race to bag party tickets from their wards, the Sena (UBT) and MNS leaders claimed.

To start with, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS are coming together for an obscure Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport’s (BEST) credit society polls on Monday. The two parties have formed ‘Utkarsh panel’ to contest the credit society election.

The panel comprises 21 members, of whom 18 belonged to the Sena (UBT), two to MNS, while one is from an association of SC and STs, said Suhas Samant, who heads the Sena (UBT)-controlled BEST Kamgar Sena.

The credit society is controlled by the Sena (UBT), whose members are employees of the BEST undertaking, the civic transport and electricity provider public body. Last month, the Thackeray cousins shared political stage after two decades for a “victory” celebration after the state government rolled back two contentious GRs on the three-language formula for students of classes 1 to 5. Questions are being raised in political circles on whether both the sides have started trusting each other due to their past experiences. Both the parties suffered a drubbing in the last year’s polls to the 288-member state assembly.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, while the MNS drew a blank — for the first time since its inception in 2006. Even the MNS president’s son, Amit Thackeray, lost his debut election from Mahim in Mumbai where the party has considerable influence. “Coming together is the need of the hour. After the July 5 rally, we witnessed a massive swell of emotions. We need to ride on it for our good and win as many civic bodies as we can.

This will rejuvenate the cadre, give us a strong footing after the results in the assembly polls,” the Sena (UBT) leader said. “We may have trust issues. But we are on a ventilator and must get off it. They (Shiv Sena-UBT) are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Coming together is the need of the hour. If anyone says this arrangement will continue till the assembly polls, then that looks uncertain. We are clearly looking at the civic polls first,” the MNS leader asserted.

( Source : PTI )