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Updated: Feb 20, 2019 13:13 IST

Mumbai: After questions were raised over its decision to revive the alliance with the BJP, Shiv Sena on Wednesday clarified why it did a U-turn on its decision to go solo in elections.

The Sena said that it is not “helpless” and no “adjustment” was reached for power and that it gave “another chance” to the alliance after differences were sorted between the two parties.

The BJP and the Sena announced an alliance for Lok Sabha and Assembly election on Monday.

The Sena in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said that it looked at the “numbers” and the “new arrangement” like any other political party.

“In a parliamentary democracy, numbers have got more importance than it should. Therefore, like others, look at their numbers, we too have to do it, the editorial said. However, it added that it has not “turned the way the wind was blowing” and said that the “wind” is now in favour of the Sena.

The Shiv Sena justified that it never left the National Democratic Alliance. “Even a trusted ally like Nitish Kumar has quit the NDA twice. Nitish, who had attacked on Ram temple and Godhra, was not acceptable to Modi... if Nitish Kumar can come back into the NDA, then Shiv Sena has been an equal member of the NDA,” the editorial said.

The Sena has been at the receiving end after its U-turn to ally with the BJP which came after almost five years of constant criticism.

The editorial in the Marathi daily added, “The oppostion has a question on why the alliance happened... Amit Shah came to Matoshree. We told him what we wanted to convey in ‘Thackeray’ style. It was unanimously decided that what mistakes were committed earlier will not be repeated.” The Sena added that it maintained its “dignity and will continue to do so.”

It added that the 2014 “wave” is gone and the 2019 elections will have to be fought on “ideology, work and the future”. “There are new challenges before the NDA. It seems difficult that the BJP will be able to cross the majority mark on its own, and it has realised it two years back,” the Sena said through the mouthpiece.