Big brother BJP wants to cut Shiv Sena to size

The election results have given the BJP a stick to beat the Shiv Sena with and it seems bent on using it till it breaks Even as the two estranged allies on the record waited for a proposal from the other to work out the terms of a new partnership BJP leaders told midday that they are going to ensure that the party makes no compromises to accommodate the Shiv SenaDevendra Fadnavis who is tipped to be the next CM of Maharashtra celebrates with supporters yesterdayThe message that has gone out to the top leadership from senior BJP leaders in the state and in Delhi is in fact quite brutal Cut the Sena to size As part of their crusade to do so senior BJP leaders have asked top leaders like party chief Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi to not only deprive the Sena of the post of deputy chief minister which the regional party is said to have demanded in backchannel talks but also of the five key portfolios of home revenue urban development housing and financeUddhav Thackeray said last evening that he would wait for the BJP lsquoto make the first moversquoldquoThe fact is that we need the support of only 23 additional MLAs to form the government and it makes no sense for us to give the Sena the post of deputy CM or any of the important portfoliosA BJP poster outside its Nariman Point office during the postelection celebrations PicBipin KokateA government cannot run when key ministries like home and revenue are under the control of an ally a fact that the previous CongressNCP government in the state aptly demonstratedrdquo said a senior BJP leaderPosition of powerThe BJP found itself in an even stronger position postafternoon when senior NCP leader Praful Patel unexpectedly announced the partyrsquos ldquounconditionalrdquo support to the BJP in the ldquointerests of Maharashtrardquo Senior BJP leaders said the party was well aware that the Sena needs it much more than it needs the SenaIllustrationsAmit BandreldquoThe Sena needs to ally with BJP to stay in power in the BMC and to be part of the NDA government under Narendra Modi It also needs to be a part of the ruling dispensation in the state to strengthen its base in rural areas Hence we have told the top leadership to concede nothing that would help the Shiv Sena consolidate its position in Maharashtra We donrsquot want a rejuvenated Senardquo said a senior leaderChief tooWhile both the Sena and the BJP ensured that no leader spoke against the other in public yesterday BJP president Amit Shah did make a few statements in his afternoon press conference that indicated that the way that the party had been treated by the Sena had left a bad taste in the BJPrsquos mouthPointing out that the BJP had not ended the alliance with the Sena Shah said ldquoWe have won more seats than the Sena in Maharashtra and the HJC in Haryana wanted to give us as their alliesrdquo ldquoThey ended a 25yearlong relationship for just three seatshellip and now it has been proved who was in the right and justifiedrdquo the BJP chief addedThe issues on forming the government were expected to be discussed in a meeting of the partyrsquos parliamentary board last evening Party sources said the inputs of central leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and O P Mathur who were handling the state affairs during the elections will be key and that both leaders were unlikely to recommend a big role for the Sena in the state government after their firsthand experience of dealing with the former allyNCP dilemmaDespite its seemingly strong position the BJP also finds itself between a rock and a hard place The prospect of allying with the NCP which it might have to do if a deal with the Sena does not work out has also seen opposition from at least two groups within the state unitldquoIt will be difficult for us to ally with a party that has faced charges of corruption Even PM Modi had described the NCP as a Naturally Corrupt Party in his speeches If we ally with the NCP or take outside support from it opposition parties may corner us and put is in an embarrassing situationrdquo said a party leader