Amid uncertainty on seat pact in Pune, Sena and BJP reaffirm alliance for civic polls

Pune, Dec 30 (PTI) Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant on Tuesday claimed his party's alliance with the BJP was "intact" for all the 29 poll-bound municipal corporations in Maharashtra, an assertion coming amid uncertainty over tie-up between the two parties in Pune.

An intense tussle has been going on over seat-sharing between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, members of the ruling Mahayuti coalition in the state, for polls to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) which has 165 seats spread across 41 wards.

The BJP, which heads Mahayuti, has reportedly offered 15 to 16 seats to the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. On Tuesday, the BJP-Shiv Sena could not reach a consensus on seat- sharing for PMC polls even as the deadline to file nominations ended.

While local Shiv Sena claimed that the alliance between the two saffron parties has snapped, Samant insisted there was no truth in such assertions.

The Shiv Sena cabinet member emphasised that the tie-up between the two Mahayuti allies was "intact" in all the 29 municipal corporations going to polls on January 15, including Pune.

"They (BJP) have distributed AB forms (required to file nominations as a party’s official candidate) to their aspirants. Similarly, we have distributed AB forms to our aspirants. We have time (for seat-sharing) till January 2 (the last date for withdrawal of nominations)," he said.

He maintained Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who belongs to the BJP, and Shiv Sena head Shinde will handle the nitty-gritty of seat distribution.

Dhiraj Ghate, Pune city chief of the BJP, asserted that his party and the Shiv Sena are natural allies and added, "from day one we have been positive about contesting municipal corporation polls together." "Even when differences emerged, senior leaders, including Chief Minister Fadnavis (BJP) and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), held discussions to resolve them. We remain hopeful that the senior leadership of both parties will arrive at a solution and continue the alliance across all municipal corporations," Ghate affirmed.

The Pune Municipal Corporation and 28 other civic bodies will go to polls on January 15 and the votes will be counted the following day. PTI SPK RSY