Chandrakant Patil: BJP to continue pushing for alliance with Shiv Sena

The BJP will continue to push for an alliance with the Shiv Sena "till the end", senior party leader and Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil on Saturday said. He added that if the two parties, currently partners in the state government but continuously at loggerheads, came together, the opposition NCP and Congress would be "nowhere".

"If one sees the results of the two Lok Sabha bypolls, the MLC elections for six Local Bodies constituencies and our Teachers'/Graduates' constituencies, the BJP and Shiv Sena have polled maximum votes. The Congress and NCP have lost miserably," Patil told reporters.

"If we both come together, the two opposition parties will be nowhere," he added. The BJP had defeated Shiv Sena in the recent Palghar Lok Sabha bypoll while the Congress nominee forfeited his deposit.

In the Legislative Council biennial polls, BJP snatched the Latur-Beed-Osmanabad Local Bodies and the Konkan Graduates' seats from the NCP.

The Sena defeated the NCP in the Parbhani-Hingoli and Nashik Local Bodies seats.

"We will continue to push for an alliance with Shiv Sena till the end. Differences can be resolved. However, if Shiv Sena doesn't change its stand of going alone, BJP too will fight on its own," the senior BJP leader said.

When asked about the fresh face-off between the two allies over the Nanar refinery project, Patil said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would explain the project to the Sena.

Sena ministers in the Maharashtra government had, on June 27, registered a protest against an MoU signed in connection with the USD 44 billion refinery project, Transport Minister and senior Sena leader Diwakar Raote had told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting that day.

An MoU was signed on June 25 between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Saudi Aramco to take a stake in the proposed refinery in the Konkan region.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Except for the change in headline, the story has been provided "AS-IS," "AS AVAILABLE, without any verification or editing from our side. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

from mumbai https://ift.tt/2KAvOaS