BJP president Amit Shah told his party workers in Mumbai on Sunday that they must prepare to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha polls alone in Maharashtra, it was reported by NDTV. Shah was referring to the party’s rift with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. There are 48 parliamentary constituencies in Maharashtra.
Shah has been quoted telling the workers that they must prepare themselves to fight a three-sided or even four-sided contest with the BJP and the Shiv Sena fighting the elections separately in 2019. He has asked the party workers to gear up for the elections and to ensure that a majority of people vote for the BJP.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena fought the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as allies, but a few months later they contested the state elections separately. The Congress and its ally NCP too fought the elections separately in 2014 assembly polls. The BJP emerged as the single largest party and the Shiv Sena then got into a post-poll alliance with the BJP.
The Shiv Sena has already announced its decision to fight 2019 elections alone, as the rift between the BJP and the Sena has become more and more pronounced. On Friday, the Shiv Sena even abstained from the no-confidence motion voting in the Lok Sabha, despite BJP president Amit Shah calling the Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray seeking his support. While there are constant attacks on the BJP by the Shiv Sena from their mouthpiece Saama and other official statements from the Sena on the rift, the BJP hasn’t yet made any statement on calling off their alliance with the Shiv Sena.