MUMBAI: Issues such as building the Ram temple at Ayodhya and abolition of Article 370 form the foundation of the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said here on Wednesday as he addressed a gathering of Shiv Sainiks on the 53rd foundation day of the party.
He further added that in the coming days the issues would be resolved and the alliance would emerge stronger.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too was present at the occasion and both he and Thackeray assured the workers that the alliance will be sustained and shall emerge stronger at the assembly elections in October this year.
“Our alliance has an emotive base of Hindutva. No other alliance in India has such a base, which is why the gelling of grass root workers of both the parties is absolutely fine,” Thackeray said.“Those who called Savarkar a coward have been defeated; it is the biggest achievement of the Lok Sabha polls. Now we have to ensure decisive defeat of that line of thinking which is uncomfortable with Jai Shri Ram slogans in parliament and doesn’t want to chant Vande Mataram,” he added.
Thackeray also said that the Shiv Sena workers would now ensure that the benefit of government schemes reaches the last man. Fadnavis urged Shiv Sena workers to ignore all the discussions and debate in media regarding who would be the Chief Minister.
“Such things will be revealed at the right time. Workers should ensure victory of our candidates and leave these things to leaders,” he said. Thackeray later hinted at equal distribution of power between the two in a jovial manner.
‘Maha snub for loyal Sena-BJP cadres’
NCP leader Ajit Pawar criticised CM Fadnavis’ move of inducting some former Congress-NCP leaders into his cabinet during its expansion, saying loyal Shiv Sena-BJP cadres were ignored during the exercise.
‘Next Maharashtra CM from Shiv Sena’
In its official mouthpiece Saamna, the Shiv Sena claimed that the “next chief minister of Maharashtra will be from the party”. The regional party also claimed that its aim was to saffronise the Assembly