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Two days after Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch L K Advani held the Shiv Sena responsible for breaking ties with his party, the Sena on Sunday shot back at the octogenarian saying his party failed to provide him with complete information on the alliance breakdown.
Advani during a function in Patna on November 14 had said that (Shiv Sena President) Uddhav Thackeray did not like his request to continue the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"When talks between the Shiv Sena and the BJP seemed to be faltering, Uddhav ji himself called up Advani ji and apprised him of the situation. He had said said that the 'yuti' (alliance) which you (Advani) and (late Sena President) Balasaheb carried on for nearly 30 years does not seem to have a bright future ahead.
"If the yuti fails to materialise this time, please forgive us. This is the sincerity Uddhav ji has shown," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, told mediapersons on Sunday.
"We do not break alliances when any party comes with us. We wanted the alliance with Shiv Sena to continue. But it seems Uddhav did not like my request. He thought his party will be better off if it goes alone. This ended the 25-year-old alliance," Advani had said.
"When Uddhav Thackeray decided to go alone in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, I personally called him and told him this will not be appropriate. I requested him to reconsider his decision and stay with us, but he did not accept," Advani had said.
Raut said if the Sena wanted to break the decades-old alliance, they would not have ceded to BJP's demands of decreasing the number of seats the party would contest. "Sena did not break this alliance that was forged on principles of Hindutva. If we had to break it anyway, we would not have agreed to let go our seats. If Advani ji has not got the complete details from his party, we will place before him all the details when we visit Delhi," Raut said.