Devendra Fadnavis Hits Back at Shiv Sena Over ‘Big Brother’ Assertion, Says BJP Not Desperate For Alliance

The two parties contested the 2014 Maharashtra polls separately but later joined hands to form government in the state.

New Delhi: Hitting back at disgruntled ally Shiv Sena over its claim of being ‘the big brother’ in the alliance, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not seeking a tie-up desperately.

“BJP does want an alliance with the Shiv Sena but we are not desperate for it. We want the alliance as custodians of Hindutva and a strong force against corruption,” Fadnavis said, while speaking at the valedictory event of a day-long meeting of the state working committee of the party in Jalna.

Notably, Fadnavis statement comes after Sena’s chief whip in Parliament and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut claimed that his party is the ‘big brother in Maharashtra and will continue to be so”.

“There is no proposal from the BJP to form any alliance with the Shiv Sena….We are not waiting for any proposal to be offered to us,” Raut had stated, earlier in the day.

This is not the first time that the Sena has attacked the BJP despite being part of the government in the state and the Centre. At several occasions, its leaders have often said they would contest the upcoming polls on their own.

Meanwhile, speaking about Narendra Modi-led government’s performance in the last four and a half years, Fadnavis said that “potholes” of the last 60 years cannot be fixed within five years. “We need a continuation,” he added.