BJP-Shiv Sena deadlock over seat-sharing continues

Notwithstanding initial signs of a rapprochement, BJP-Shiv Sena-led 'Mahayuti' on Tuesday night failed to resolve its differences over seat-sharing for the Maharashtra Assembly polls with smaller parties expressing disagreement over the meagre share offered to them.

The seat-sharing talks in Mahayuti, a rainbow alliance of six opposition parties, hit a roadblock amid reports that though Sena was agreeable to accepting BJP's demand for 130 of state's 288 Assembly seats, it had rejected suggestions to whittle down its own quota of 151 declared by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, leaving barely 7 seats for four smaller partners.

Senior leaders from Sena and BJP had on Tuesday afternoon announced after a meeting that the two parties had decided to continue their alliance and a decision on quantum of seat-sharing would be made at a meeting with other alliance partners.

Accordingly, leaders of Mahayuti met at a suburban hotel in Bandra in Mumbai on Tuesday night but even after over 3 hours of deliberations which dragged on till midnight no final announcement could be made on a seat-sharing formula.

Leaders of Republican Party of India (Athavale), Revolutionary Socialist Party, Sanyukta Socialist Party and Shivsangram strongly opposed the new formula and demanded a larger share resulting in a deadlock.

RPI leader Ramdas Athawale, RSP's Mahadev Jankar, Raju Shetty of SSP and Shivsangram leader Vinayak Mete left the venue midway through the talks.

Shiv Sena spokesman and MP Sanjay Raut later told reporters that fresh rounds of meetings would be held on Wednesday to iron out the differences.

Image: Smaller parties like Ramdas Athawale's Republican Party of India have threatened to walk out of the alliance. Photograph: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com