No room for ‘under the table deal’ between Shiv Sena and BJP, writes Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut wrote in his weekly column on Sunday that there is no room for a "under the table deal" between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is the political future of Maharashtra and there is no truth in speculations about an "under the table deal" for a reunion of the BJP and Sena.

In his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the party mouthpiece Saamana, Raut wrote that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in his address to Shiv Sainiks on January 23, had turned the tables on the BJP, which was criticising him over his illness.

Uddhav Thackeray, who had cervical spine surgery a few months ago, had slammed the BJP for its "hypocrisy," "double standards" on Hindutva, and elaborated on how the Shiv Sena had "rotted" in alliance with the BJP for 25 years.

"The message from his speech was that the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress, is Maharashtra's political future, and there is no truth in speculations that there was an under the table deal happening between the Shiv Sena and the BJP and they could get back together," Sanjay Raut wrote.

Uddhav Thackeray's speech and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis's response to it have made the state's politics clear and there is no room for confusion, he said.

Notably, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had claimed that the Shiv Sena grew politically when it was in alliance with the BJP.

"There is no possibility of a Shiv Sena-BJP reunion after Fadnavis's response," wrote Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, who is also the executive editor of Saamana.