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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Monday called up Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and urged him not to break the 25-year-old alliance ahead of elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Shah, who had discussed the Shiv Sena's final seat sharing offer of 151:119 last night with the state BJP leaders Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde and Devendra Fadnavis, swung into action after Maha Yuti's other allies including Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) and Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP), have threatened to call it quits and contest 144 seats each.
However, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut told Business Standard, "Shiv Sena is firm on its offer of 119 seats to BJP."
Further, RSP have decided to wait till noon for revision in seat offer. If Shiv Sena and BJP fail to increase the seats they will formally announce their decision to leave Maha Yuti and contest 144 seats each. Shiv Sena has offered 18 seats to SSS, RSP, Republican Party of India and Shiv Sangram. However, BJP has not yet announced any seats from its quota as it is pressing for negotiations with Shiv Sena over 59 seats which Shiv Sena never won since 1990 assembly poll and 19 seats which BJP never bagged.
BJP and Shiv Sena insiders indicated that if Shiv Sena remains adamant then there won't be an alliance and both the parties will be free to independently fight assembly poll.
Meanwhile, BJP's Central Parliamentary Board meeting on Sunday night concluded without taking any final decision on whether or not to break the alliance and contest all 288 seats by itself. This, after Shiv Sena offered its final seat sharing formula of 151:119.
A BJP leader said: "At the meeting, which was attended by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president Amit Shah, the Central Parliamentary Board has finalized list for its 130 seats after discussing candidates for all 288 seats. State BJP, which was represented by the leaders of opposition in the state council Vinod Tawde and leader of opposition in the state assembly Eknath Khadse and state unit chief Devendra Fadnavis, will wait for the party high command's decision on alliance. So far no final decision has been taken."
Modi and Shah have indicated that the party is prepared for one more round of talks with Shiv Sena. However, both the leaders are believed to have indicated that BJP's plan B is ready if Shiv Sena remains adamant.
However, BJP general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Rajiv Pratap Rudy declared that his party was quite keen for the survival of its alliance with Shiv Sena. He declined to divulge details about the discussions held at the meeting of the Central Parliamentary Board.
Tawde informed that the Central Parliamentary Board did discuss the list of party's candidates. ''The powers have been delegated to national president Amit Shah to declare the list of party's candidates in Maharashtra,'' he said, adding that BJP wants its alliance to continue with Shiv Sena.
