Another Break-Point? Shiv Sena Decides to Serve as Opposition in Maharashtra, Say Sources

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has written to the Maharashtra Assembly secretariat saying his party will serve as the opposition in Maharashtra, signaling another breakpoint with the BJP. "The BJP can continue discussing. We don't want to be neither here, nor there," he told party workers later.

In the dramatic move on Monday, many saw an attempt by the Sena to cover its bases while still leaving scope for a deal with the BJP on power-sharing in the state.

"No one needs to worry. I do have solutions to political problems," the Sena chief assured his workers.

He also taunted Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP, which has offered external support to the BJP government, greatly diminishing the Sena's bargaining power. Mr Pawar today reminded the BJP that his offer stands, rattling the Sena even more.

"You get dengue because mosquitoes bite. But these days in politics you don't know who is biting whom. Today Pawar took a press conference and bit," Mr Thackeray said.

Sources said the Sena chief has named Eknath Shinde as his choice for Leader of Opposition. Today was the deadline to stake claim to the post. The Shiv Sena is the number 2 party in Maharashtra, after the BJP, which won the maximum seats but is short of a majority.  

Sources say the Sena can retract the move if it can work out a pact with the BJP; the party reportedly wants the post of deputy chief minister and a key portfolio like finance or home.

On Wednesday, the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis has to seek a trust vote to determine if he will remain chief minister - the NCP says it will abstain to ensure he will win.

As the Assembly convened on Monday, the Sena's legislators sat in the opposition benches, across the BJP for the first time in decades.

On Sunday, Mr Thackeray had stopped short of snapping ties after recalling his party MP Anil Desai from the Delhi airport just before he was to take oath as a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

"It is up to the BJP to decide. We will not hesitate to vote against them if the BJP and NCP come together," he said.

Mr Fadnavis responded by saying that the BJP is willing to hold discussions "on principles but not on sharing portfolios."

The Shiv Sena's 25-year alliance with the BJP ended ahead of the October state election over how many seats each side would contest.