The Shiv Sena has not received any offer from ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the post of Rajya Sabha (RS) Deputy Chairperson, a spokesperson for party chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday.
Referring to the ongoing media speculation, the spokesperson said “there is no truth in the matter yet”.
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“Even if it happens, only the Sena chief will take a call on the issue,” he told IANS.
There have been some reports claiming that the BJP has made such an offer to its sulking ally to ensure its support during the next Lok Sabha elections.
On this, the spokesperson pointed that the Sena had already made it clear last year that henceforth it would fight all elections independently and also spread its base to other states in the country.
There is speculation that the party’s senior most Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, who is also executive editor of Saamana, would be nominated for election to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Upper House.
This post is due to fall vacant in July with the retirement of incumbent P.J. Kurien.
Besides Raut, currently in his third term in the RS, the other Sena MPs in the Upper House are businessman Venugopal Dhoot (third term) and Anil Desai (second term, just started).
