Prepare to go alone in 2019 elections, no alliance with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra: BJP chief Amit Shah to workers

The BJP chief's message to his party members came days after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena refused to support the Narendra Modi-led government in the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday.

BJP president Amit Shah has asked party’s Maharashtra functionaries to 'prepare for contesting elections alone' without any alliance. (PTI)

New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah has asked party’s Maharashtra functionaries to 'prepare for contesting elections alone' without any alliance. With the focus on the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha polls and strengthening the cadre in the state, Shah said this in a closed-door assessment meeting of senior party leaders that was held in Mumbai on Sunday. The BJP chief's message to his party members came days after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena refused to support the Narendra Modi-led government in the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday. As per the report, Shah clearly told his party workers in the state that there would be no alliance with the Shiv Sena for the upcoming 2019 general elections. Disappointed with Sena, Shah has reportedly asked BJP workers to prepare to contest all Maharashtra assembly and Parliamentary constituencies for 2019. Watch Video- A senior BJP minister who attended the meeting was quoted as saying, "The national president plainly stated that the strategy has to be implemented in all the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the state. At present, the BJP shares its political space with the Shiv Sena and a couple of smaller allies. It is a message that says 'prepare for contesting elections alone'. We will have to rush as the general election are now less than a year away." The party president also reviewed the BJP's performance of 2014 polls, as Maharashtra is the second largest state in the country going by the number of Lok Sabha seats after Uttar Pradesh. Of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, BJP had won 23, the Shiv Sena (18), the NCP four, the Congress two, and the Swabhimani Paksh, a former ally of the BJP, one. (With inputs from PTI)