Maharashtra Polls: Shiv Sena firm on contesting 135 seats

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray categorically said here on Friday that the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was on and both the parties would contest 135 seats each in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

"This formula was decided earlier by BJP President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. We are firm on that formula. The announcement of the alliance will be made soon," Thackeray told the media.

If the two main alliance partners finalise the formula, it will leave the remaining 18 seats for the smaller allies in the 288-member Assembly.

In another development, prominent farmers' leader and the head of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti Kishore Tiwari joined the Shiv Sena, barely five days after he snapped ties with the BJP over various issues, including differences on the new Motor Vehicles Act penalties.

Tiwari is likely to be rewarded with a ticket from a constituency in his home district Yavatmal, but the Sena remained tight-lipped about it.