The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will make the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena “cry” for every Lok Sabha seat, the statements coming amid strife in the ruling alliance in Kalyan Lok Sabha seat represented by Shinde’s son Shrikant.

On Friday, Shrikant Shinde had said some leaders were trying to create hurdles in the alliance in the Dombivali area (under the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat) for their selfish political and that he was ready to leave the seat since the aim was to ensure the Narendra Modi government returns with a thumping majority in the 2024 LS polls.

Latching on to the strain there, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said the Kalyan-Dombivali area was a stronghold of the (undivided) Shiv Sena and the party had been winning from there for years now.

“The same seat was given to Shrikant Shinde who had no connection with the party. Uddhav Thackeray had pampered Shinde’s son. Let him fight his battle. The BJP will make them (Shinde-led Shiv Sena) cry for every single seat,” Raut said.

The NCP said the BJP had plans to ditch Shinde in Kalyan and eventually force all Shiv Sena leaders to contest on its lotus symbol.

“Looks like @BJP4Maharashtra has all plans to ditch MP Dr Shrikant Shinde in Kalyan Loksabha Constituency. Eventually, BJP will force all others from the Shinde camp to contest on the BJP ticket or face permanent political isolation. @NCPspeaks,” the party’s spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said.

On Friday, in a bid to defuse the situation, Shrikant Shinde had said he would “back whichever candidate the senior leadership of BJP-Sena decides” for Kalyan as everyone was “working towards the BJP-Shiv Sena forming a government at the Centre”. Shrikant Shinde has been MP from Kalyan since 2014.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)