All eyes on Bal Thackeray for survival of 22-yr-old alliance

Mumbai, Oct 5 (UNI) All eyes are now set on Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray for the decision to find a way out of the impasse between the Sena and BJP over claiming of the Chimur seat in the upcoming by-elections.

Mr Thackeray is widely respected even in the BJP and shares a very close rapport with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani.

In fact, the BJP leaders say that the party had alliances with many political parties, but the one which they reverred most was with the Sena.

When contacted, Sena MP and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut told UNI from New Delhi ''Sena chief and Executive President Uddhav Thackeray and other senior leaders feel that the alliance with BJP should continue. But simultaneously, they feel that since Chimur was Sena's seat it should be contested by the party.'' The final decision on the impasse would be taken by the Sena chief himself within a couple of days, Mr Raut added.

The two parties came together for the first time during the 1984 Lok Sabha elections and since then, the two saffron parties continued their ''alliance''. There were instances of ''tension'' between them even at the time when they were sharing power in the state, but the differences between them were resolved by BJP leader late Pramod Mahajan, who is considered as an architect of the Sena-BJP alliance and the main trouble shooter, apart from senior Thackeray.

With the exit of late Mahajan from the political horizon in May, Maharashtra BJP president Nitin Gadkari and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde became the incharge of the party. On the other hand, aging and frail Sena chief was joined by his son Uddhav Thackeray.

Political observers here feel the equation between Thackeray Sr and late Mahajan does not exist between Thackeray Jr and Gadkari-Munde.

The BJP leaders argue that Shiv Sena was not willing to accept their position, which has weakened after the exit of their stalwart leaders Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray.

In the 2004 Assembly elections, BJP conceded the Chimur seat to Shiv Sena at the instance of then Sena leader Mr Rane. The Sena gave the candidature to Mr Vijay Wadettiwar, a Rane protege, who has resigned and joined the Congress. With his exit, the Sena has lost about 90 per cent of its power base, alleged Mr Gadkari.

However, the Sena is not ready to accept this and it has planned a rally on October 12 at Chimur to show its strength, according to party sources.

In the house of 288, Shiv Sena has 56 seats and BJP 54. The resignation of at least three more Sena MLAs, who are Rane supporters, is expected.

In such a situation, one seat can make a lot of difference for getting the coveted post of leader of the Opposition and that can be one of the reasons why the Sena is desperate for Chimur, according to political observers.

UNI