saturday, march 22, 2014 (page 16) daily excelsior,...

MUMBAI, Mar 21:

In an indication of its vexa-tion with ally BJP, the Shiv Senatoday said it will contest 20 seats

in electorally vital UttarPradesh, but the BJP down-played it saying they share“strong and old” ties and are“inseparable”.

Sena, an NDA ally led byUddhav Thackeray, however,maintained it will not field nom-inees against BJP’s PrimeMinisterial aspirant NarendraModi and party presidentRajnath Singh, contesting fromVaranasi and Lucknow respec-tively.

Sena’s decision to contest inthe most populous state, whichsends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha,comes in the backdrop of a sec-tion of Maharashtra BJP makingovertures to MNS chief RajThackeray, Uddhav’s estrangedcousin and rival, for some sortof poll-related arrangement toavoid a split in saffron votes.

“We have our alliance withBJP in Maharashtra, not in UttarPradesh. We will strive toexpand our party in other partsof the country. Shiv Sena willfield 20 candidates in UttarPradesh,” Sena spokesmanSanjay Raut told reporters.

He did not name the seatsfrom where Sena will contest.

Meanwhile, the BJP said ithas old ties with its trustedalliance partner and they wouldachieve success in the LokSabha elections in Maharashtraby bagging the maximum seats.

BJP chief Rajnath Singhasserted that if there are “anyshortcomings in the alliance, wecan resolve through talks”.

“I can vouch with confi-dence that the relations of BJPwith Shiv Sena cannot break atany cost. If there are any short-comings in the alliance, we canresolve through talks,” he said inDelhi.(PTI)

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 (PAGE 16) DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU

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Miffed Sena to contest 20 seats in UP; ally BJP downplays rift