Shiv Sena raises mandir, motor and Metro ahead of polls

While the saffron alliance talks are stuck because of disagreement over a 5050 sharing formula Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked the BJPled Central government to begin building the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya He also appealed to his party workers to get ready to put the first brick for constructing the templeWe have been pestering the Centre for the construction of the temple Nobody can stop us from building the temple he said at a leaders meeting at his residence on Sunday nightSeats for SenaThe appeal to the party workers and the demand for the temple is seen as Senas posturing ahead of the Assembly elections that the two parties have decided to fight together but havent reached a consensus on seat sharing Insiders said the BJP is not willing to part with more than 126 of the 288 seats while the Sena wants at least 135 of them and has asked BJP to have 135 The remaining 18 could be given to smaller allies The Sena also wants to share equal responsibility in the government This means it would seek the CMs post or the deputy CMs post half share in the council of ministers and lucrative departments under its representativesCongress and Nationalist Congress Party have fixed a share of 125 each The remaining 38 seats would go to their smaller alliesThe emerging third front of Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi has upset its ally AIMIM which has refused the alliance because it didnt get an adequate number of seats However the talks were openended The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has decided to stay away from the electionsAarey MVI Act hurdlesThe Senas opposition to constructing the Metro car depot in Aarey and refusal to accept the high penalty provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act have emerged as new flashpoints between the two alliesThackeray said that the Aarey movement was similar to the Nanar agitation which forced the BJP government to withdraw a chemical refinery CM Devendra Fadnavis is hellbent on going ahead with the car depot project and expressed his displeasure over Sena leader and transport minister Divakar Raotes unilateral decision of staying enforcement of MVI Act in Maharashtra He told a section of the media on Sunday that Raote hadnt consulted with him before writing to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari seeking a reduction in penalty charges Insiders said that the Sena would want Fadnavis to review both issues and make a statement before agreeing to a seatsharing formulaFight alone if neededThough the BJP and Sena have been saying that the seatsharing would be announced soon party workers have been suggested to remain ready to fight independently if the tieup doesnt work The BJP had severed a twodecadeold pact a couple of days before the nominations started in 2014 Both the parties have prepared its candidates in all seats in case of a breakup Faces from other parties have been inducted tooThackerays son Aaditya has been touring the state for the past one month seeking the support of voters Currently he is visiting the Konkan region where the CMs yatra is expected to reach in a couple of days from western MaharashtraCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates