Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said it was clear that the BJP had backstabbed the party (Sena) by trying to hatch a conspiracy with Pawar, but the BJP's policy of 'Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed' failed miserably, and the NCP chief didn't fall for it.
"However, Pawar didn't bend before the BJP. He has himself come clear on the kind of 'offers' made by the BJP to lure the NCP and keep the Sena out of power," Raut said.
It may be recalled that a couple of days ago, Pawar said in an interview with a (private Marathi) TV channel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered the NCP an alliance with the BJP and become a part of the government, both in Maharashtra and at the centre.
The PM told Pawar to make a BJP-NCP government in Maharashtra since the country needed his immense experience, but neither Pawar fell for it nor the Congress in Maharashtra, said Raut, adding that since "we had the numbers, they made the offers".
"During the poll campaign, the BJP President and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had asked: "what has Pawar done for Maharashtra? 'to which Pawar replied in his own style by getting 54 MLAs elected. It has taken over five years for Modi-Shah to realize that Pawar's experience can be utilized for the country," Raut said.
Earlier this morning in a strong edit in the party mouthpieces 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar Ka Saamana', the Sena said it is a mystery what kind of experience the BJP wants after it had labeled the NCP as a 'Naturally Corrupt Party'.
"Before the Assembly elections, pressures were built by the ED cases against Pawar, then the interrogation of NCP leader Praful Patel in decades-old cases which conveniently came up in poll season. Now, the same BJP wanted to ally with NCP. All this is something unprecedented for the people of the country," said the edit.
It added that the policies of 'Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed' have failed but something more is going on which has been voiced by an industrialist like Rahul Bajaj.
The Sena said that now, instead of the BJP, the Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra will benefit from the "experienced Pawar" and that the BJP could not harm Ajit Pawar.
Indirectly warning its former ally to play safe in Maharashtra, the Sena cautioned that "if BJP slips again, it will fall".
( With inputs from IANS )