The Shiv Sena on Sunday welcomed the Shiromani Akali Dal's decision (SAD) of coming out of the BJP-led NDA fold.
SAD is the second party after the Shiv Sena to have broken ties with the BJP.
Last October, after the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections were announced, Shiv Sena broke ranks with the BJP as the latter, which had a higher number of seats, refused to concede to regional party’s demand for the post of Chief Minister.
“Both parties (Shiv Sena and SAD) stood by BJP through thick and thin. While others have changed sides when they smelled power. Shiv Sena was forced to quit the NDA last year while Akali Dal quit over Farm Bills. We felt sad over the development," Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut stated.
Shiv Sena and SAD were pillars of the NDA which are no longer there….the present dispensation cannot be called NDA anymore. This is a different alliance," said Raut, a close aide of Shiv Sena President and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
“Shiv Sena appreciates Akali Dal's decision to break its ties with NDA in the interest of farmers,” Raut later tweeted.