MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena may announce a pre-poll alliance for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections on Monday, functionaries from the two parties said. BJP president Amit Shah is in Mumbai and is likely to announce the tie-up along with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, a state BJP functionary said, requesting anonymity. The Lok Sabha elections might see the BJP contesting 25 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, while the Sena will contest the rest. Both parties will accommodate smaller allies in their quota, said a Sena functionary, also requesting anonymity. However, there was some thaw in the relationship after Shah, according to a report in The Indian Express last week, called up Thackeray.

Source: Mint February 17, 2019 18:56 UTC