Amit Shah addresses party workers to fight alone in the 2019 elections

On Sunday, as per media sources BJP president Amit Shah spoke to party workers that they should prepare to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections alone in Maharashtra as the rift with ally Shiv Sena is quite evident. The booth-level workers were addressed to prepare for an eventuality of a three-sided or even four-way contest with the BJP and the Shiv Sena fighting Lok Sabha polls individually.

“You should start preparing now so that in your booths 51 per cent voters vote for BJP”, president of BJP was quoted saying this.

A a list on people to be in-charge of the 48 parliamentary constituencies in the state is expected to be released by party.

The two parties were allies while contesting the 2014 parliamentary elections which got them score with record tally and a few months later they split and fought alone. BJP was witnessed as the single-largest party in the state for the first time ever. Also the Congress and its ally, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, fought separately in the 2014 assembly elections.

Also Read: MP: BJP Chief Amit Shah confident that Shivraj Chauhan will form government again

The Sena will fight the 2019 elections alone as announced earlier may be because it was not happy with a junior partnership in their post-poll alliance with 63 assembly seats. Recently, the two parties are not doing well with each other which results into attacking on each other, where the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeted by Shiv Sena almost everyday through stinging editorials in its mouthpiece Saamna.

When Rahul Gandhi made unrestrained attack on the BJP and the Prime Minister during the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena abstained itself even though Mr Shah had phoned Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray requesting his support.

It is observed according to the political experts that the BJP is not calling off their alliance yet but Mr Shah’s statement signaled disappointment regarding the Shiv Sena’s stand about 2019 polls and the no-confidence vote.

Also Read: Amit Shah in Mumbai to mend ties with Shiv Sena?