Will BJP's alliance with Shiv Sena be declared today?

Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during a meeting at the BJP headquarters, in New Delhi, on Thursday. Pic/ PTI

After a meeting of the core state BJP team with the party's national president Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday, sources said that no concrete decisions over the alliance with Shiv Sena for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections have been taken yet. The two parties had entered an alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

The BJP is willing to give Sena 126 of 288 seats, keep 144 for itself and allot 18 to smaller allies, sources in the Sena said. However, a senior BJP leader who was part of the deliberations in Delhi told mid-day, "Nothing has been finalised yet (about seat-sharing)."

The meeting was held to discuss all the possibilities that might arise, considering a pact or no-pact with the Sena. The Sena had in the Assembly elections held in 2014 won 63 seats fighting alone, as opposed to its demand of 144 seats this time around.

There were no confirmations over the exchange of seats after the core group meeting.

Insiders from Shiv Sena said that the announcement of an alliance was expected to be made on Friday. The list of candidates should be declared after the end of Pitrupaksh (a 15-day period not considered too auspicious according to the Hindu calendar).

144
No. of seats Shiv Sena wants

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