Shiv Sena will not ally with ruling BJP

A powerful regional political party has snapped ties with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of general elections in 2019, a party leader said yesterday, ending a nearly three-decade-old alliance based on nationalist ideology.

The Shiv Sena, a partner in the governing coalition formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP in the western state of Maharastra, has decided to contest elections on its own, the party's president, Uddhav Thackeray, said.

"We will contest elections in all states without making an alliance," Thackeray said.

The decision makes the Shiv Sena the first major political outfit to break an alliance with the BJP since Modi became prime minister in 2014.

The Shiv Sena enjoys considerable political clout in Maharastra, home to India's financial capital of Mumbai, and like the BJP, it believes India is a fundamentally Hindu nation, despite its secular constitution.

Despite being allies in the state government, power sharing has led to discord between the two parties.

"The BJP has become arrogant after winning more seats in 2014 assembly elections, it has neglected its alliance partner in power sharing," said a senior Shiv Sena leader, who declined to be identified as the party is still in the state government.