Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve, who was appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Tuesday, said the BJP’s strategy is to form an alliance with a party and then weaken it.
“The BJP has shown its true colours,” he said while responding to a query on Sushil Kumar Modi’s remarks.
After Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar parted away with the BJP, Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday said the BJP “broke” only those who betray them (BJP). In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena betrayed us and faced the consequences, he had said.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Arvind Sawant asked whether Sushil Kumar Modi was present at the meeting in which the then BJP president promised Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray that the state chief minister’s post will be rotational.
“He (Nitish Kumar) can never get the same respect he was being given in BJP, in the RJD and Congress. Nitish says his party (JD-U) was being split. The BJP never betrayed any of its allies. We have only broken those who betrayed us… Be it the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra which was in alliance with BJP. And when the Shiv Sena betrayed us what was the consequence?” Sushil Kumar Modi had asked.
Senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s revolt along with 39 of 55 MLAs led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June.
Shinde took an oath as the chief minister on June 30 with the support of the BJP.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena secretary Vinayak Raut said the Thackeray-led party is getting stronger even though Sena’s 40 MLAs and 12 MPs aligned with BJP.
“The Shiv Sena cannot be finished,” Raut said.
Thackeray broke the alliance with BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra elections claiming that the BJP leadership reneged on its promise of sharing the CM’ post on rotation.
Thackeray subsequently joined hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the MVA government, which lasted till June this year.