Dalwai recalled the Sena had supported Congress nominees Pratibha Patil's nomination (File)
At a time when the BJP and the Shiv Sena are unable to arrive at a consensus on sharing power in Maharashtra, a Congress leader on Saturday wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi requesting her the Sena be given support to form the next government.
The Sena lost no time in welcoming the stand of the Congress leader Hussain Dalwai, a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, who has written the letter.
Mr Dalwai recalled the Sena had supported Congress nominees Pratibha Patil and later Pranab Mukherjee for the post of President of India in the past.
"Shiv Sena and BJP are different. The Sena had supported Pratibha Patil, Pranab Mukherjee for the President's post. Shiv Sena politics has become all-inclusive unlike that of the BJP, which is extreme. We must support the Sena to keep the BJP out of power," Mr Dalwai wrote in the letter.
He said a cross-section of the Muslim community in the state would prefer the Sena over the BJP.
When asked about Mr Dalwai's letter, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, "Dalwai belongs to the socialist ideology. He comes from a family of progressive Muslims. We welcome his stand. But, Sena fought the elections in an alliance and we will adhere to the coalition dharma till the end."
In the recent Maharashtra election, the BJP won 105 seats, 17 less than its 2014 tally. BJP's ally Sena won 56 seats.
The Sena and the BJP have since been locked in a battle of nerves over sharing power.
Both the parties have not yet started formal discussions even though the tenure of the current Legislative Assembly ends on November 8.