MUMBAI: The

is not willing to quit the Devendra Fadnavis regime even after a bitter feud with the

over the

Lok Sabha by-election, it is learnt.

Moreover, a sizeable section in the Sena wants to seal an alliance with the BJP for the next elections, irrespective of Uddhav Thackeray’s suitable noises that his party would go solo for the next election. Scores of Sena MLAs think that the party will to an extent retain its base in the heartland by teaming up with the BJP.

Inquiries revealed on Friday that the Sena finds the latest by-poll results across the country worrying as they indicate that a united Opposition can pose a threat to the BJP in the 2019 elections. However much Thackeray may pour venom he can’t team with

.

“We can’t join the Congress-led big front and going solo would mean offering power to the Congress-NCP combine on a silver platter. Many Sena MLAs think that teaming up with the BJP will help avoid division of Hindutva votes,” said a Sena functionary on Friday.

The Maharashtra BJP is alarmed too by the by-poll results, especially the NCP’s hard-fought victory in the Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha by-election. “The NCP and the Congress quickly stitched up an alliance in Bhandara-Gondia and bagged the seat. This doesn't augur well for the BJP-Sena combine. The Sena will lose quite many seats in Maharashtra if it decides to go solo and ditto with the BJP,” said a BJP MLA known for his organisational skills.

“Thackeray should do well to remember that the Sena won a large chunk of Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in 2014 because of the Modi wave. And there is going to be no such wave in 2019. Hard-nosed pragmatism will compel the Sena to share seats with the BJP,” he added.

Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said, “Sena better not be aggressive. Thackeray should realise by now that he was keen on playing a shrill WWF match, but chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is a grandmaster. He played every move astutely.”