New Delhi: Minutes after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray announced that his party will not partner with the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel told News18 that Devendra Fadnavis government should resign and call fresh polls in Maharashtra.
“Given the circumstances when Sena has decided to leave NDA, it would be best to call fresh elections in the state,” said Patel.
When asked if NCP would consider joining NDA, he said, “We have not been with the BJP for the past three-and-a-half years and there is no question of us going with them now.”
“As of now we are part of the UPA and we will remain with them. We have no plans to go with the NDA,” he added.
The Rajya Sabha MP said he was “not surprised” by Thackeray’s decision. “The way Shiv Sena has been treated by the BJP, I am not surprised that they have decided to leave NDA. In fact, this was waiting to happen,” he added.
While Patel didn’t take question on whether the Sena had approached the NCP, he said Thackeray’s decision would hurt the BJP electorally. “In terms of perception, it will go against them.”
According to sources, the Congress and the NCP are holding talks on their alliance for 2019 and Sharad Pawar-led party has sought lion’s share in seat allocation. In 2014 Assembly polls, all four major parties in Maharashtra contested independently, giving advantage to the BJP which won 122 seats. While Sena won 63 seats, Congress and NCP had to make do with 41 and 40 seats, respectively. There were 36 constituencies where margins were so thin that a Congress-NCP alliance — which would mean neither party would eat into each other’s votes — would have won the seats.
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