Shiv Sena today asserted that its decision to contest next Lok Sabha polls alone cannot be changed by the BJP president, indicating that Amit Shah's meeting with Uddhav Thackeray yesterday had failed to break the ice between the two warring allies.
"A decision taken by the chief of the party (Shiv Sena) cannot be changed by the president of another party. Only the Sena or Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision for itself," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told PTI.
He recalled that Thackeray, at the party's national executive meet in January, had announced that the party will fight all upcoming polls without forging an alliance with the BJP.
Raut stated this while trying to dismiss "speculation" that the talks between BJP and Sena would culminate in an alliance for the next Lok Sabha polls.
"The speculation going on outside is not true," Raut said while blaming the BJP for it.
Asked about details of the two-hour-long deliberations between Shah and Thackeray last night, the Sena leader said, "Two leaders have met in a closed room. Third person cannot know what discussions took place."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content