BJP, Sena give ‘free hand’ to workers to end alliance

MUMBAI: Seat-sharing talks between the Shiv Sena and the BJP have almost ground to a halt, with the saffron allies adopting tough stances. Late on Sunday evening, state BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said "talks have come to a standstill". A source said the party's national president, Amit Shah, is likely to arrive in Mumbai on Monday to meet state leaders on the crisis. The Sena is unwilling to consider the BJP's 50:50 formula, whereby the two should each contest 135 of the total 288 assembly seats, and four smaller allies should be given the remaining 18. On Sunday, Sena MP Sanjay Raut reiterated that the chief minister would only be from the Sena, a day after party chief Uddhav Thackeray delivered a sharp warning to the BJP against "lust for power".   TOI