Shiv Sena won its first Lok Sabha seat outside Maharashtra on Tuesday, 2 November, as Kalaben Delkar, the wife of late MP Mohan Delkar, won the Dadra and Nagar Haveli seat by a comfortable margin of 51,269 votes.
Seen as the architect of this historic victory, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut spoke to The Quint about expanding the party's footprint at the national level.
"Shiv Sena has been active in the politics of the country, not just Maharashtra, for the last 50 years," the leader said, adding however, that the party took a long time to make an impact outside Maharashtra.
Raut asserted that the Dadra and Nagar Haveli win has 'opened many doors' for the party.
On the Shiv Sena's long-standing alliance with the BJP and what it had meant for the Hindu vote, he added:
"After the fall of Babri Masjid, there was a wave of Shiv Sena and Balasaheb in the country. Even then, we were in an alliance with the BJP. Balasaheb always said that we must not divide Hindu votes if we are to contest in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi."Sanjay Raut
Speaking on the BJP claiming a copyright on Hindutva, Raut told The Quint:
"Politics does not work according to what BJP claims or doesn't claim. If BJP is so intensely Hindutvawadi, then why did it lose elections in Himachal, West Bengal, and Dadra-Nagar Haveli? We are also strong Hindutvawadis."Sanjay Raut
On the upcoming polls, the leader said the Shiv Sena will be contesting elections in Gujarat.
"The road to Dadra-Nagar Haveli passes through Gujarat," the leader said.
Further, the leader also spoke on the recently concluded bypolls and said that they reflect BJP's defeat.
Citing the formation of Janata Dal against the Congress in 1978, Raut said that all parties must come together to beat the BJP and prevent dictatorship.
On the 2025 general elections, Raut said, "Shiv Sena will consider to be a part of UPA, but an alliance with the NDA is highly unlikely."
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