Party should not have taken support of Ajit Pawar: BJP's Eknath Khadse

New Delhi: The Shiv Sena's latest breakthrough in Maharashtra after weeks of chaotic manoeuvring marked with twists and surprises has given the party confidence to look at going to Delhi, according to its vocal troubleshooter Sanjay Raut.

The Shiv Sena in coming out unscathed after cutting ties with the BJP - the Maharashtra party withdrew its only minister from the Union government to signal it meant business - is not ruling out sending a "suryayaan" to Delhi.

"I have been saying this from the first day that we will form government. I have said that our suryayaan will land safely on the sixth floor of the mantralaya (secretariat). But everyone was laughing at us. Now our suryayaan has landed safely," Raut said.

"People shouldn't be surprised if Sena's suryayaan lands in Delhi," Raut said, drawing an analogy to a craft that would fly to a difficult destination as the sun, in this case Delhi.

While negotiations to form government in a new alliance with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress were going on in recent weeks, Raut was one of the most visible Sena leaders who dashed from one leader's house to another, including a trip to Delhi to test the water with the Congress leadership. It was during one of his runs that he complained of chest pain and had to be taken to a hospital.

A senior NCP leader, requesting anonymity, told IANS: "In the near future, we may discuss and jointly participate in the Jharkhand assembly poll campaigns and we are in touch with our other alliance partners to prepare a schedule." The leader pointed out that the Jharkhand assembly polls is scheduled in five phases, starting from November 30 to December 20.

"Once we are done in Maharashtra by tomorrow (the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackarey as Chief Minister) and the government settles down, then we will prepare a schedule for assembly campaigning from December 5 onwards," he said.

He added that the Shiv Sena and NCP will also ask the Jharkhand Congress and its alliance partner Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to indicate its requirements for the campaign.

Another senior NCP leader, in the know of the ongoing developments in Maharashtra, said that the alliance partners are likely to hold talks with the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi to contest the assembly polls in partnership to give a tough challenge to the BJP.

Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse came with his personal opinion infront of the mediapersons and said that the party should not have taken the support of Ajit Pawar. He said, "My personal opinion is that BJP should not have taken support of Ajit Dada Pawar.

He is an accused in the massive irrigation scam and faces many allegations, so we should not have allied with him." Home Minister Amit Shah said political parties with diametrically opposite ideologies have come together only to grab power and have discredited the mandate given by the people of Maharashtra.

He said moral and ethics have been distorted just to keep the BJP out of power. "Is it not horse-trading to take support by offering chief minister's position. I am again telling Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar to claim chief minister's post and then take Shiv Sena's support," Shah said.

Devendra Fadnavis chose to remain tight-lipped on alliance with the Ajit Pawar that lasted for just 80 hours before the four-day old BJP government in Maharashtra collapsed on Tuesday. "Sahi waqt pe sahi baat karunga.... chinta mat karo (I will say the right thing at the right time... don't worry)," the 49-year-old BJP leader told reporters.