''Even If Sena, BJP Come Together, Won't Contest Jointly'': Maharashtra BJP Chief

BJP's Maharashtra Unit chief Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday said that his party won't contest elections along with Shiv Sena in future even if the two parties form an alliance.  

Mr Patil also said the BJP, being a national party, can't share the post of Chief Minister with any regional party, because if it does so, then it will have to replicate the same formula in states like Haryana.

"If the BJP's parliamentary body recommends the state unit to forge an alliance with the Shiv Sena to protect the interest of the state...I must make one point clear that even if both the parties (the BJP and the Sena) come together, we will not contest any election jointly in future," Mr Patil, who heads the state BJP unit, told a Marathi news channel.

The BJP and its old ally Sena fell out over sharing the post of chief minister in Maharashtra after the 2019 Assembly elections.

The Sena then went on to join hands with the NCP and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister.

"We had been liberal with the Shiv Sena in the last five years. We were even ready to share more portfolios after the 2019 Assembly polls, but the BJP, being a national party, can't share the post of CM with any regional party. If we do so, we will have to replicate the same formula in states like Bihar, Haryana and others," he said.

The BJP shares power with regional allies in these states.

In a virtual address from Delhi, BJP chief JP Nadda had on Monday told the party workers from Maharashtra to get ready to "bring the party to power on its own" in the state.

He had also asked the Maharashtra party unit to strengthen its IT cell and expose the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government's "failure".