Raut says Sena will still fight polls alone

A day after a crucial meeting between BJP president Amit Shah and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the Sena on Thursday stuck to its earlier stand over fighting the elections alone.

"The decision to contest all elections in future was taken by the party's national executive… How can an outsider come and influence it?" Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said.

However, Raut said Uddhav would make the party's stand clear when he visits Palghar later in the day on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Shah and Uddhav held a meeting in Mumbai that lasted for more than two hours. The meeting was held at Matoshree, Thackeray's Bandra bungalow.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav's son and Yuva Sena president Aditya Thackeray, too, were present. In between, Shah and Uddhav also had a one-on-one closed-door meeting.

What transpired in the meeting is officially not known. Reports state that Shah is learnt to have pressed Uddhav to keep the saffron alliance intact in Maharashtra.

Besides, one of the long-pending issues between the two allies is the issue of expanding the ministry in Maharashtra.