'BJP's alliance with Shiv Sena to continue'

Nagpur, June 22: BJP Maharashtra unit president Nitin Gadkari today asserted his party's alliance with the Shiv Sena would continue.

Addressing the inaugural session of the party's state executive committee meeting here, Mr Gadkari said an alliance between the two parties was necessary to dethrone the incumbent Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in the state in the next election.

''BJP leaders, including me and party General Secretary Gopinath Munde, will meet Shiv Sena functionaries in Mumbai shortly to discuss the issue,'' he said.

There was nothing wrong in the aspirations of the BJP as well as the Shiv Sena to come to power on their own, but it would be difficult if not outright impossible, since both the parties would face several problems in achieving the goal, Mr. Gadkari said. The BJP and the Shiv Sena realised that they needed each other, and were, therefore, ready to continue to be together, he said.

An alliance would benefit both the parties, as the outcome of combined efforts was greater than the sum of the individual efforts, he added.

UNI