The Shiv Sena on Tuesday accused the former ally BJP of back-stabbing it and equated the party to 13th century invader Muhammad Ghori who killed Prithviraj Chauhan despite the legendary king sparing his life several times.
Sena in its mouthpiece Saamana, said it would “uproot” the BJP as the latter had dared to “challenge us”.

In the editorial, the Sena said, “Muhammad of Ghori, said to have laid the foundation of Islamic rule in India, fought several battles with Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan and the latter always spared him (after defeat). But when the invader won a battle, he killed Prihtviraj Chauhan.”

“Even in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has spared such ungrateful people several times and now they are trying to back-stab us,” the editorial said, without mentioning the BJP by name.

Yesterday, after the meeting between NCP president Sharad Pawar and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi here to discuss the political situation in Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut met the Maratha strongman and exuded confidence that the state would soon get a government led by his party.

Talking to reporters after meeting Pawar at his residence here, Raut said he told the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief that he should lead a delegation of state leaders and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the farm distress in Maharashtra due to unseasonal rains.

“Since he (Pawar) was the Union agriculture minister and is also a senior leader, he should lead a delegation of leaders and meet the prime minister to apprise him about the farmers’ woes in the country,” Raut said.

Asked whether there were talks on government formation in Maharashtra, he parried the question, but exuded confidence and said, “The state will soon get a Sena-led government.”

Earlier in the day, Pawar’s meeting with Gandhi lasted nearly 50 minutes.
The Sena and the BJP fought the state polls together and emerged with 161 seats in the 288-member house but fell out after a bitter dispute over allocation of portfolios and sharing of the Chief Minister’s post.  Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray then approached the opposition – the NCP and the Congress – to form an unlikely alliance and stake claim to form the government, something the BJP declined to do when approached by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, citing its lack of a majority.

The winter session of the parliament will see Sena sitting in opposition benches in the Rajya Sabh. Party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said on November 17.

“We have got to know that the seating arrangement of two Shiv Sena MPs has been changed in the parliament,” said Raut.

The Sena also did not attend the NDA meet kept to discuss the agenda ahead of the winter session.

Sena leader and party MP in the Rajya Sabha Raut said, “I have learnt that the meeting (of NDA constituents) is being held on November 17. We had already decided against attending the meeting considering the developments in Maharashtra. Our minister resigning from the central government.”

Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant who had been the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises at the Centre, resigned on November 11 after fall out with the BJP in Maharashtra.

The Congress and NCP won 44 and 54 seats, respectively, in the last month’s polls.

President’s rule was imposed in the state last Tuesday, after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari sent a report to the Centre, stating that formation of a stable government was impossible in the current situation despite all his efforts.

With the picture still not clear, but talks are on between the Sena, Congress and NCP to form a government in Maharashtra.