The party is above personal differences

There wont be much of an impact. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has been sealed. Hindutva is the main agenda for the alliance...

BJP city chief Gopal Shetty is confident despite disgruntlement within the party and differences with alliance partner Shiv Sena. The disputes will not have much of an impact on the partys poll prospects,he tells Dhaval Kulkarni

There are disputes between the Shiv Sena and BJP in a number of constituencies. How will it affect your performance?
There wont be much of an impact. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has been sealed. Hindutva is the main agenda for the alliance. The alliance is not just for the Sena-BJP leaders,but also for people who vote for the Sena and BJP. There were some problems due to delimitation,like in Mumbai South where the Shiv Sena was demanding the seat for sitting Mumbai South-Central MP Mohan Rawle,as a large chunk of his constituency was merged with Mumbai South. We too were claiming the seat,as it was our traditional constituency. However,these issues have died down.

What about Gopinath Munde sulking after Kirit Somaiya piqued Poonam Mahajan Rao for the Mumbai North-East seat?
There will be no impact at the ground level. Somaiya will win by a huge margin. Once the first phase of polling is over,Munde and BJP Maharashtra president Nitin Gadkari will campaign in the city. After all,the party is supreme. Personal differences would have no impact on the party.

The MNS is putting up candidates in all six seats in Mumbai. How will it impact the traditional Sena-BJP votes?

MNS is putting up candidates,so are parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) apart from numerous Independents. The MNS will naturally impact our votes but not considerably. But these are the Lok Sabha polls. People are wise and know the value of their vote. They will not act in a way that will damage their future.

In the wake of the anti-outsider campaign by the MNS,the Shiv Sena was forced to take an aggressive stand on the sons-of-soil issue with strong editorials in the party mouthpiece,while the BJPs took an ambivalent stand. Will this lead to the North Indian vote moving away from your alliance?
The North Indians will not move away from us,as the party is moving ahead with national sentiment in mind. North Indians have been traditionally associated with the BJP. During campaigning,maximum North Indians are seen to be with us. Moreover,no North Indian leader has made any statement against us. So,they will stand by the alliance on the issue of Hindutva.

NCP rebels are contesting against the Congress in some seats in the city.
The Congress and NCP are fighting each other overtly and covertly. (NCP president and union agriculture minister) Sharad Pawars prime ministerial ambitions are out in the open. The Congress and NCP have a number of differences after being together for 10 years. This will benefit us.

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The party is above personal differences

There wont be much of an impact. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has been sealed. Hindutva is the main agenda for the alliance...

The party is above personal differences

There wont be much of an impact. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has been sealed. Hindutva is the main agenda for the alliance...