Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde has claimed 15 candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had approached him for his party symbol to contest the Delhi polls, but he declined due to "yuti dharma".

The Shiv Sena is a partner of the BJP, which won the just concluded Delhi assembly elections, in the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra.

“A total of 15 AAP candidates had reached out to me. I thought that if the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol went to them, votes would be split between the BJP and Sena and others would benefit. So I declined," Shinde said at an event in Thane city on Sunday.

The Sena chief said he had to honour “yuti dharma” (coalition commitment).

“I asked my MPs to campaign for the BJP candidates in the Delhi assembly elections,” said Shinde, who turned 61 on Sunday.

The BJP swept aside the AAP in Delhi, winning 48 of the 70 assembly seats. The AAP secured only 22 seats, with top leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia suffering defeats.

Shinde said several people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, wished him on his birthday.

“They greeted me as Eknath Shinde and not as Maharashtra’s deputy CM,” he said.

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