After bitter Palghar bypoll battle, Fadnavis for pre-poll alliance with Shiv Sena

The chasm between the Sena and the BJP has grown further since the results of the recent by-polls in Maharashtra were announced

Days after estranged National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena -- ran an acrimonious campaign against each other ahead of the Palghar bypoll, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday called on BJP office-bearers to try for a pre-poll alliance with the saffron ally.



"Fadnavis asked the party's state office-bearers to try for a pre-poll alliance with the Shiv Sena. But, he said that if the alliance does not materialise, we should prepare to contest alone," Raosaheb Danve, the BJP's state unit chief, told news agencies on Monday.



The allies had exchanged sharp barbs during campaigning for the Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya by-polls, held on May 28. While the BJP won Palghar by a margin of 29,572 votes, it lost Bhandara-Gondiya to the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine.



A few days ahead of the by-election, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray released an audio clip, purportedly of Fadnavis asking BJP workers to use all possible means to win the by-election.



Subsequently, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut launched a scathing attack on Fadnavis, saying that the chief minister is full of arrogance. "We have all seen that in politics, even a dog starts considering himself a tiger after coming to power," Raut had told agencies.



In response, the BJP targeted Shiv Sena for "not acknowledging" the "achievements" of the Narendra Modi government in the past four years.

Read More