At Shiv Sena foundation day, Uddhav stresses on equal sharing of power; Fadnavis says committed to saffron flag

After five years of sniping at each other, the two former allies had renewed their alliance in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, there has been growing concerns over power sharing arrangements in Maharashtra if the two go on to win the upcoming Assembly elections, due in October. The Sena has been keen that power should be shared equitably between the two parties, with each getting the post of chief minister for two-and-a-half year” each.

“We have come together and we need to take an oath that we will not split or break away. You should call me to one of your programmes and I will say this there as well. Things should be equal between us,” the Sena chief said.

Fadnavis, who spoke before Thackeray, was more circumspect and said that the priority of both the Sena and BJP workers should be to ensure that the alliance won with a thumping majority in the upcoming elections. “The discussion of who will be a minister or the CM is immaterial. I want to request you that you should leave these discussions to the media. Our aim should be to ensure the return of this government with a huge majority. After that… both Uddhavji and us, will arrive at proper decisions. Such decisions are to be announced at an appropriate time,” Fadnavis said in his 16-minute speech addressing Sena workers.

Referring to the two parties as a tiger and a lion, he said there was no doubt about who would rule the state. “We all are here to fight for the saffron flag. I started my life in RSS by swearing by the saffron flag that henceforth the only guru that I will have is the saffron flag. My first gurudakshina was to the saffron flag,” Fadnavis said.

Earlier in the day, an editorial published in Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana called for the installation of a chief minister from the party in Maharashtra by next year. “Shiv Sena is a growing party and now holds a strong presence in the western state of India. We may have an alliance with the BJP, but we are growing steadily. After the state elections, there will be saffronisation in the state and a chief minister from Shiv Sena in Maharashtra,” the editorial said.

In his 30-minute speech, Thackeray also reiterated his commitment towards building a Ram temple in Ayodhya and scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.