Shiv Sena, one of the members of the National Democratic Alliance, on Thursday said that it is open to joining the grand alliance of opposition parties if a proposal comes. Earlier, Shiv Sena has announced that it will contest 2019 Lok Sabha polls alone.
Shiv Sena leader, Arvind Sawant speaking about the alliance, first said, “If a proposal comes, naturally we’ll think about it and party chief will take a decision on it, Right now, it’s not a question of being a part of a grand alliance. The government failed miserably to deliver acche din which it promised. Therefore, we have to defeat them for which we should come together”. The Shiv Sena leader specifically said that they are open for a grand alliance to defeat the BJP. Uddhav Thackeray had earlier called for all the parties to come together.
Sawant also said that the regional parties’ coming together is desirable. He said the decision about joining any alliance should be taken at the highest level, and they are looking forward to discussing it. When asked about when they should come together, Sawant said that there was a lot of time and they would wait for the right time.
Earlier, the number of opposition parties and regional parties had united to show the strength of the alliance on the occasion of HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in as Karnataka Chief Minister. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were present. Many regional leaders like N Chandrababu Naidu, Pinarayi Vijayan NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, and socialist leader Sharad Yadav were also in attendance. The leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, Interestingly, Shiv Sena was invited to the ceremony, but Uddav Thackeray had politely rejected to join the opposition in Bangalore.
