Shiv Sena: 'Principal opposition' in Maharashtra, BJP ally at Centre

New Delhi: Amid reports of a possible rapprochement between BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, a senior Sena leader on Sunday said that his party would fully support Government agenda in Parliament session beginning on Monday and rumblings in Maharashtra will have no bearing on their relationship at the Centre.

Raising the comfort level of the Narendra Modi government, Sena leader Sanjay Raut said,"the rumblings in Maharashtra (between the Shiv Sena and the BJP) will have no bearing on our relationship at the Centre.

"We are with the agenda of the government. Since we are in NDA at the Centre, we will support the government's functioning. We will be with the government as we have been so far and will go by the priorities of the government," the Shiv Sena leader in the Rajya Sabha said.

His statement is significant as Shiv Sena is sitting in the Opposition in Maharashtra where BJP has formed a government with NCP's assurance of backing it. "Let us see. Right now we are in the Opposition in Maharashtra and will play that role," he said to a specific question whether his party will participate in the Devendra Fadnavis government.

BJP leader and Maharashtra PWD minister Chandrakant Patil had yesterday said that the estranged ally Shiv Sena "will be accommodated" in the cabinet expansion before the winter session of the Assembly starts on December 8. The Sena, on the other hand, said it was firm on the demand of a third of the portfolios and the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

"We have always wanted Shiv Sena to join us because we do not want an unstable government in the state... The final picture will be clear in one or two days. But one thing is for sure. Shiv Sena will be accommodated in the cabinet expansion, which may happen between November 25 and 30," Patil had said in Kolhapur. Chief Minister Fadnavis had also reportedly met BJP President Amit Shah today to discuss the cabinet expansion.

Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar had said his party had given a reasonable share in power to the BJP in the past, and now BJP should reciprocate and give it "at least a third of the portfolios."