Gadkari supports Munde on tri-partite alliance

MUMBAI - After Bharatiya Janta Party leader Gopinath Munde said that Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena could be part of BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, the party’s chief Nitin Gadkari Thursday said MNS and other parties are important for defeating the ruling Congress-led combine in Maharashtra.

Supporting Mundes statement made earlier this month, Gadkari said that the MNS alliance with BJP-Shiv Sena will ensure more seats in the assembly.

MNS and other parties are important for ensuring the defeat of the Congress-NCP (nationalist Congress Party) alliance, Gadkari said during an informal meeting with reporters here.

The issue, which his in its initial stage, will be discussed in the BJP core committee meeting, he added.

In his address Feb 6, Munde had said that since the possibility of a single party coming to power was nearly impossible, it was imperative for like-minded parties to form an alliance.

Munde had also admitted that Raj Thackerays fledgling four-year-old party had impacted the results in 53 assembly constituencies by eating into the Shiv Sena-BJP votebank.

This, he said, helped the Congress-NCP alliance to come to power for the third consecutive term in the state.

It may be difficult to bring MNS into the saffron alliance, but nothing is impossible in politics. To make the impossible possible, you need a Gopinath Munde, he had said.

Both Shiv Sena and MNS had snubbed Munde for his remarks later.