Mumbai: BJP national president Amit Shah and Union minister for shipping Nitin Gadkari have both ridiculed the idea of a Congress-led Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
While Mr Shah termed the mega-alliance confusing and said it would not help its constituents, Mr Gadkari called it an alliance of weak parties.
Speaking at an event in Mumbai, the BJP president said the reality of the Mahagathbandhan was different from what was being portrayed.
“They don’t exist if you picture the entire country. If Deve Gowdaji has a rally in Maharashtra, Mamataji campaigns in Gujarat and Chandrababu Naidu campaigns in MP will it affect anyone? They are regional leaders. They will contest in their regions. They are not in a position to help each other,” he said.
Responding on the possibility of a coalition of Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Gadkari said that the term ‘Mahagathbandhan’ is synonymous with an alliance of the weak.
“There are two characteristics of Mahaghatbandhans: first, people who are weak form Mahagathbandhans. Secondly, they now know that they are in trouble and have no power to fight. That’s why they decided to unite,” said the Union minister.
During an elaborative discussion on BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, Mr Gadkari used a Marathi proverb to explain the equation between the two parties in the state of Maharashtra.
“Have you heard of the Marathi proverb ‘Tujha majha jamena...tujhya vachun karmena?’ It means ‘Can’t live with you, can’t live without you’. The Sena-BJP alliance was laid on the basis of Hindutva. Even now, there is no conflict between the two parties on the basis of Hindutva. I feel that for the benefit of the nation and Maharashtra and its citizens, the BJP and Shiv Sena should come together. We are trying to form an alliance and I feel that it will take place,” said Mr Gadkari.
Mr Shah has also expressed hope that Shiv Sena would continue its alliance with his party for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Mr Shah said that the BJP would like to forge an alliance with the Sena. He also indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party would gain more partners ahead of the 2019 polls than it had before the 2014 elections.
“Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is frequently in touch with the Shiv Sena leadership at the state level. The Shiv Sena is already a part of the Central and state governments and it would continue its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had earlier this year announced that his party would contest future elections on its own.
He had also taken up the agenda of construction of Ram temple on the disputed site in Ayodhya and had visited the temple town last month.
