Sanjay Raut Rubbishes Report of Seat Sharing Deal With BJP, Says Don’t Have Such Proposal

Reportedly earlier in the day, Shiv Sena held a meeting with its MPs and state legislators in Maharashtra

New Delhi: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday rubbished reports of seat sharing deal between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and his party. Talking to news agency ANI, Raut said, “We have no information about it, you (media) people know more. We don’t have such a proposal, and we’re not sitting here to accept such a proposal. We reiterate Shiv Sena will play the role of a big brother.”

Raut’s statement came amid reports that BJP and Shiv Sena are likely to hold a meeting soon to discuss the alliance. Reportedly earlier in the day, Shiv Sena held a meeting with its MPs and state legislators in Maharashtra. The meeting was called to discuss the strategy of upcoming Lok Sabha Elections.

Sanjay Raut on reports of BJP & Shiv Sena to fight on equal number of seats: We have no information about it, you (media) people know more. We don’t have such proposal, & we’re not sitting here to accept such a proposal. We reiterate Shiv Sena will play the role of a big brother. https://t.co/w67Z5kP3u8

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2019

After the meeting, Raut said, “We discussed Rafale, issue of drought in Maharashtra. Udhav Thackrey Ji said on the 10% EWS quota to General Category that people with annual income of 8 lakh must be exempted from paying Income Tax. Since you have labelled them poor, they must be exempted.” (ALSO READ: Shiv Sena Says no to Alliance With BJP, Assures Support to Nitin Gadkari ‘if he Emerges as PM Face‘)

On January 23, the Shiv Sena had ruled out any alliance with the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. The party had said that it will extend its support to Nitin Gadkari if he is the PM face.

Speaking to an English newspaper, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had predicted a hung house in the general polls and said that the BJP only thinks about itself which is why ‘we are also thinking about ourselves’. The leader yet again made it clear that the word ‘alliance’ does not exist in Sena’s dictionary. However, he asserted that the party will support Gadkari if he comes out to be the PM face.

The BJP, on the other hand, is leaving no stone unturned to work towards making Narendra Modi country’s prime minister again in 2019. Gadkari, himself, asked party workers at the BJP national convention, to take a resolution to work with all their strength and bring BJP to power and Narendra Modi as prime minister.

Both the parties have been at loggerheads for many months. The BJP ally had supported the Opposition demand in Lok Sabha for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale issue. On the other hand, Amit Shah, in a veiled warning to the Sena, had said that if an alliance is forged, the party will ensure victory for its allies, but if it did not, the party will defeat its former allies in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

It is to be noted here that the two parties had contested the 2014 Maharashtra polls separately but later joined hands to form a government in the state.