Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today said the Shiv Sena, a constituent in the state and Union governments, would not be "forced" into an alliance if the latter did not want it.
He said that an alliance between the two parties would be forged only through "consensus", adding that there was "no problem from our (BJP) side".
Speaking to PTI, Mungantiwar said, "If the Sena does not want an alliance, how can it happen? There can be no force. There is no problem from our side."
Earlier, on Monday, a meeting between Mungantiwar and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray did not materialise as the latter was, reportedly, busy with other issues concerning the party.
"Uddhav ji was caught up in meetings on issues including the proposed mega-refinery at Nanar (the setting up of which the Sena is opposing) as well as the killing of two Sena functionaries in Ahmednagar (Sanjay Kotkar and Vasant Anand Thube who were shot dead by motorcycle borne assailants on April 7)," an aide to Thackeray said.
A source close to Mungantiwar on condition of anonymity said the BJP leader had sought an appointment from Thackeray this evening as well, but it did not materialise.
While Thackeray has publicly stated, on several occasions, that his party would go it alone in the state and general elections slated for 2019, the BJP's president, Amit Shah, during the party's Foundation Day rally on April 6, had said he sincerely hoped the Sena and BJP would be together.
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