In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Mr Sarnaik has said the former allies must patch up “before it is too late”.
Mumbai| Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik, who has been under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate for the last few months, said that the party should team up with the BJP again to save its leaders from being harassed by central agencies. In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Mr Sarnaik has said the former allies must patch up “before it is too late”, especially for the many upcoming corporation elections, including those of Mumbai and Thane.
Mr Sarnaik, who’s a Legislator from Thane’s Ovala-Majiwada constituency in the state Assembly, said though the BJP and the Shiv Sena are not allies anymore, their leaders have good relations and that “we should make use of this”.
In his letter, which reached the Chief Minister’s office on June 10, Mr Sarnaik added: “It is better to join hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi again as Shiv Sainiks feel that would save the Sena leaders…from problems.”
Several properties belonging to Mr Sarnaik were raided by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case. Vihang Sarnaik, the legislator’s son, was also questioned by the agency.
The Shiv Sena, back then, had accused the central government of targeting the legislator.
Pratap Sarnaik further wrote in his letter that the Congress which is an alliance partner in MVA, will go alone in the corporation polls, while the NCP, another alliance partner, is trying to lure and break away Shiv Sena’s own MLAs into their fold.
“Shiv Sena MLAs wonder whether the MVA has been formed, by breaking the alliance with the BJP, to help the Congress and NCP grow,” Mr Sarnaik wrote.
Following a dispute over power-sharing in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena had ended its long-term ties with the BJP in 2019. The Sena then joined the alliance with the two of its former rivals- the Congress and the NCP- to form the government in the western state.
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