Mumbai: The tug of war between the Shiv Sena and the BJP over seat-sharing continued on Saturday without result. Rejecting the BJP’s formula, the Shiv Sena has come out with a new formula unacceptable to the BJP. According to the new formula, the Shiv Sena would take 155 seats, BJP 126, and seven seats were offered to the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana (SSS) led by Raju Shetty.
BJP state president Devendra Fadnavis is expected to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for further negotiations. The BJP on Friday had offered a 158-130 formula to the Shiv Sena but, instead of accepting it, senior Sena leader Subhash Desai came up with a new formula that has suggested no seat for other allies of the mega alliance except the BJP and Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana.
The meeting was held between Mr Fadnavis and Mr Desai in the morning. Vinod Tawde, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, confirmed they have received a new proposal for seat-sharing from the Shiv Sena but added that the formula is unacceptable to them and Mr Fadnavis would be meeting the Sena chief to discuss the matter.
