Mumbai: Amid the tussle over seat-sharing between the saffron-led alliance partners in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena on Wednesday asserted it will not step back from its demand for 151 asssembly seats "come what may".
"Shiv Sena is a very big party in Maharashtra. And that is why we will definitely fight elections on 151 assembly seats. Even (Sena chief) Uddhavji has made this very clear. We will not go back on this decision of ours come what may," party spokesman Sanjay Raut said here.
Sena is insisting on a formula under which it will get to contest 151 seats, BJP 130 and other allies seven. The state has 288-member assembly. However, the minor partners have expressed displeasure over Sena's formula and are demanding more seats for themselves.
Raut, who is also an MP, was talking to reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence in suburban Bandra. Rejecting suggestions of minor parties walking out of the six-member `mahayuti' (Sena-BJP-led grand Opposition bloc), he said they are intelligent enough to stick together and fight the October 15 assembly polls as one force.
"All our alliance partners, be it Raju Shetti (Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana), Mahadev Jankar (Rashtriya Samaj Party), Vinayak Mete (Shiv Sangram) or Ramdas Athavale (RPI) are intelligent enough to know that we need to fight the elections together. And we are sincerely holding talks to sort out the issue on seat-sharing," Raut said.
The senior Sena leader said it will be unfortunate if any of the parties quits the alliance cobbled ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls, which it swept in Maharashtra, winning 42 of the 48 seats.
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