This Article is From Oct 20, 2014

'Wave Turned Out to Be Froth,' Says Shiv Sena's Loaded Editorial

'Wave Turned Out to Be Froth,' Says Shiv Sena's Loaded Editorial

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray (Press Trust of India photo)

Mumbai: While taking tentative steps towards a reunion with the BJP for a new government in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has, in an editorial loaded with messages for its former ally, said that there was no wave for any party in the state.

"There is no clear mandate for any one party but we congratulate those who are blowing their trumpets in celebration," the Sena said in its editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna.

"In some cases where we thought there was a wave for a party, it turned out to be nothing more than froth that receded before it reached the shores," it said caustically.

The BJP is the single largest party in Maharashtra with 123 seats but is 22 short of a majority in the 288-member assembly. The party's president Amit Shah said the verdict in Maharashtra and Haryana - where the BJP will form a government for the first time on its own - was a sign that the "Modi wave is a tsunami" that can crush all political opponents.

But the Sena, which placed a distant second with 63 seats, has shared its disappointment that the wave expected in its favour "didn't materialise."

"We respect the mandate of the people, but are people satisfied with this verdict? The state is again facing uncertainty, anarchy," the Sena said in its editorial, noting that the Congress and NCP benefited from its split with the BJP.

The Sena pitched itself as the only party that was up against "powerful government forces," at the Centre and the state. "BJP union ministers and chief ministers camped in Maharashtra. On the other hand was the Congress-NCP combine at the state," it said.

After 15 years in power, the Congress has dropped to third place in Maharashtra with 42 seats. Its former ruling partner NCP, which won 41 seats, has offered outside support to the BJP.

Sena sources say their chief Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah on Sunday and said the parties should "forget the past and move forward," three weeks after their 25-year-old partnership fell apart over who would contest more seats.
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