Shiv Sena has lost the battle

Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that Shiv Sena is on the backfoot hence it is frequently attacking BJP.

Shiv Sena has been attacking BJP ever since the latter had broken the 25 year old alliance in Maharashtra. Sena has been criticising BJP for flexing its political muscles after its landmark victory in Lok Sabha polls. But then Prime Minister Narendra Modi who initially chose to remain mum on Sena made an indirect reference to Sena by saying that BJP was in favour of a united Maharashtra. He made it clear that nobody was planning take Mumbai out of Maharashtra. Senior BJP Maharashtra affairs in-charge Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that Shiv Sena has already lost the battle ahead of the October 15 Maharashtra assembly election hence the party is attacking BJP. He also added that Sena has become insecure after the breaking up of alliance and hence it is issuing such statements.

“Sena have lost track and are talking only about BJP. If they are contesting to win the elections, then they should be contesting against Congress and NCP. But if they are talking about BJP, it possibly shows that they have lost the battle,” Rudy said.

“They are cribbing partners. We are absolutely not talking about them as a matter of policy. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has clearly spelt it out,” he said.

Rudy was not pleased with the Sena’s policy of attacking BJP instead of targeting opposition parties like Congress-NCP which has been in power in Maharashtra for 15 years.

“It is amusing that Sena is not fighting the actual enemies of the state. And they say we have betrayed them. How does it matter? You were claiming to be a larger partner and more powerful. Why should you complain?” he said.

Asked about NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s remarks that Modi was addressing so many poll rallies, something which prime ministers don’t do, Rudy said, “If the benchmark in this country for Congress was Manmohan Singh, what better explanation they can offer to us ? ”

Union state minister for Commerce Ms Nirmala Sitharaman wondered if the other parties were “afraid of a PM who is performing. “It’s true that we have decided to ignore Sena’s allegations. By targetting us, the Sena is shielding the corrupt Congress and NCP, and ultimately supporting these parties.”

Earlier the Shiv Sena had criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he has left his work in the national capital to campaign for assembly election scheduled to be held in Maharashtra.

In its editorial mouthpiece Saamna, Shiv Sena launched an attack on Modi and reportedly said that despite making make new promises each day, what has he done for Maharashtra after becoming the Prime Minister. It also said that the frequent visits of Modi are making a dent on the state’s treasury.