Sena-BJP may choose simultaneous polls

A simultaneous poll would therefore be “beneficial” to the Sena-BJP combine, he said.

The minister hinted thatwhile the Shiv Sena was still in two minds, the BJP was more than willing to have both elections together.

“We will convince Thackeray of the need for simultaneous polls,” he said.The two parties had indicated their preference for simultaneous polls after the dissolution of Parliament early this month.

They however reversed their decision after Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill announced the tentative election schedule.

At a meeting convened by Gill, Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai had submitted that his party was against holding both polls together. He asked that the Assembly elections be held in February or March 2000, as per the original plan. However, the upheavals in the Congress have changed things.A Sena minister also admitted that simultaneous polls would help the alliance. Before the rupture in the Congress, he pointed out, Maharashtra faced a straight fight between the Congress-Republican Party of India (RPI) and the Sena- BJP, barring three or four parliamentary constituencies.Sena andBJP leaders believe there will be division of the Congress vote. The alliance, on the other hand, is likely to improve its performance, they feel. “If a similar voting pattern is maintained, it should not be difficult for the alliance to secure 30 to 35 seats out of 48,” a BJP leader remarked.

Leaders of the combine believe that the Congress is "nowhere near power” in either the Lok Sabha or the Assembly elections.

And, “as far as the Assembly polls are concerned, the fight will be now very weak,” the BJP leader added.