BJP, Sena form alliance for Sambhajinagar ZP polls; to team up in municipal corporation

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The local units of BJP and Shiv Sena on Tuesday formed an alliance for the upcoming zilla parishad (ZP) polls. As per the official announcement, BJP is set to contest 27 seats, while Shiv Sena will contest 25. There is, however, no alliance for the 11 seats in Sillod taluka, where sitting Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar is at the helm of affairs.Soon after the announcement on Tuesday, a group of BJP workers gheraoed party cabinet minister Atul Save and demanded that no alliance be formed with Shiv Sena for the ZP elections.Speaking to reporters, Save said the alliance with Sena has been formed as per instructions from the state-level functionaries of both parties and local elected MLAs. "Together we will ensure the saffron flag flies high on the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ZP," he said.On no alliance with Shiv Sena in Sillod, Save blamed MLA Sattar for not taking part in the talks. "There will be a direct fight for 11 seats in Sillod. It remains to be seen whether he (Sattar) floats a separate alliance or not," Save said.Notably, even though BJP won 57 out of 115 seats in the municipal corporation polls, and could potentially manage to reach the magic figure with help from others, it has decided to join hands with Shiv Sena to take control of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC). Local BJP politicians said the state leadership has asked them to join hands with Sena for CSMC."Parting ways with Shiv Sena in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar would send a wrong signal at the state level, as BJP-Shiv Sena ties are likely in some of the municipal corporations," a local BJP functionary said.According to political observers, BJP is not distancing itself from Sena in the CSMC for multiple reasons, including avoiding resistance from Sena during the course of the next five years. Differences over seat-sharing led to the Sena fighting alone for the CSMC polls and taking BJP head-on. The move failed, with the party winning only 13 seats in the House of 115 corporators.