BJP-Shiv Sena poll alliance in Maharashtra over: BJP sources - Times of India

MUMBAI: The BJP-Shiv Sena's over 25-year-old poll alliance has come to an end, sources said on Thursday.

An official announcement is expected by evening.

Significantly, BJP president Amit Shah has cancelled his Mumbai visit, lending credence to speculation that the Sena-BJP alliance was heading for a split.

READ ALSO: Shiv Sena won't contest less than 150 seats, party says in fresh snub to BJP

Shah's presence in Mumbai — he was scheduled to address a meeting at the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh seminary in Uttan, in suburban Bhayander — would have helped the saffron leaders defuse the crisis.

Shah decided to stay away from Mumbai as it became clear that, to quote a Sena functionary, "the party was over."

READ ALSO: The first time the Sena-BJP split and Sharad Pawar stepped in

Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was scheduled to visit the Goddess Tulaja Bhavani shrine in Sholapur on Thursday to seek the popular deity's "blessings" for the Sena's election campaign, a Sena MLA said.

Senior Sena-BJP leaders were closetted in a south Mumbai apartment till the wee hours of Thursday to hammer out an amicable seat-sharing formula. However, the negotiations were "futile", a senior state BJP leader said.

The two allies have begun frantic attempts to win over the smaller parties, such as the Raju Shetty-led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, the Rashtriya Samaj Party of Mahadeo Jankar, the Ramdas Athavale-led RPI and Vinayak Mete's Shiv Sangram Sanghatana.

A file photo of BJP president Amit Shah (L) with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. The alliance between the two parties is headed for a split ahead of Maharashtra assembly polls.

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