Now, Bal Thackeray bats against Narendra Modi

Shiv Sena today said it will field candidates in BJP-ruled Gujarat, where Assembly election is due by the year-end, indicating fissures in the two decades-old saffron alliance.

"Shiv Sena will contest the upcoming Gujarat Assembly election. We are making preparations in this regard," party spokesperson Sanjay Raut told reporters here.

Raut, however, did not say how many seats the party will contest in Gujarat, which has 182 Assembly segments.

Sena is an ally of BJP in Maharashtra and also at the national level where it is part of the NDA.

The announcement to contest poll in Gujarat comes a day after Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray said senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj will make a "great choice" for the Prime Minister's post.

Raut also took a dig at Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, saying he was Minister of State in PMO when coal block allocation files were signed.

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