Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has revealed that the 2014 split between the BJP and the then-undivided Shiv Sena happened over a disagreement on just four assembly seats. Speaking at a felicitation event for Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur, who was the BJP’s Maharashtra in-charge in 2014, Fadnavis said the Shiv Sena insisted on contesting 151 seats, rejecting BJP’s offer of 147.
According to Fadnavis, the BJP was prepared to contest 127 seats in the 288-member assembly and even offered Sena the chief minister’s post if they agreed to 147 seats. However, the Sena remained firm on 151 seats, citing a declaration made by their ‘yuvaraj’ — a reference widely seen as pointing to Aaditya Thackeray, though Fadnavis did not name him directly.
Fadnavis also recalled discussions with senior BJP leader Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, indicating that despite their willingness to continue the alliance, circumstances led him to become the state’s chief minister.
However, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut responded sharply, claiming that the split was not about seat numbers but a pre-planned move by senior BJP leaders. He admitted that Fadnavis personally wanted to maintain the alliance but alleged that the BJP leadership deliberately engineered the break-up.
Despite the split in 2014, Shiv Sena joined hands with the BJP post-elections to form the government under Fadnavis. But in 2019, the two parties again fell out, this time over sharing the chief minister’s post. The Shiv Sena eventually split in 2022 after Eknath Shinde led a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, further deepening the rift between the once-allied parties.
