Devendra Fadnavis Hints at Joint Contest With Shiv Sena in 2019 Polls
In a veiled reference to the constant criticism of the BJP by its belligerent ally Sena, Vikhe Patil said, "People of the state have seen the love of the tiger and lion. People of the state are seeing for the last four years the way the two are living with each other".
Mumbai, March 28: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today told the Legislative Council that the "lion and tiger"--an allusion to the BJP and the Shiv Sena- would contest the 2019 elections together. Fadnavis' remarks came in response to Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's dig that "rats will destroy the throne of the BJP-led state government".
Former BJP minister Eknath Khadse had last week questionned the claims of a private company that a total of 3,19,400 rats were killed in the state secretariat in a week. Khadse, an MLA from Jalgaon district, had also said that Dhule farmer Dharma Patil had consumed the same poison whoch was meant for killing rodents in Mantralaya to commit suicide in January this year.
The embarrassed government later clarified that 3,19,400 was actually the number of rat poison tablets placed in Mantralaya and not the number of rodents killed.
Building on Khadse's statement, Vikhe Patil said the remaining rats in Mantralaya would destroy the throne of the state government. Returning the barb, Fadnavis said his government had no fear of rodents.
"Tiger (a symbol of Sena) and lion (an allusion to BJP) are together so we don't fear rats. Rats will come our way, but the tiger and the lion will destroy them and win the 2019 polls," he said.
Responding to the CM's remarks, Jayant Patil (NCP) said they knew about the tiger but the presence of the lion is a new thing. "Rats were set loose from your side. People of the state will show all these animals their place in 2019," he said.
In a veiled reference to the constant criticism of the BJP by its belligerent ally Sena, Vikhe Patil said, "People of the state have seen the love of the tiger and lion. People of the state are seeing for the last four years the way the two are living with each other".
CM's statement of a joint contest assumed significance as the Sena had resolved in its national executive to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls solo.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut reportedly met TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, who is projecting herself as a pivot for a federal front to challenge the BJP in upcoming polls, in Delhi yesterday.