Already, a blame-game between the Shiv Sena and BJP has erupted, with at least one Shiv Sena candidate, Chandrakant Khaire openly attacking BJP state unit president Raosaheb Danve Patil for surreptitiously campaigning for his son-in-law—Sena rebel and Kannad MLA Harshavardhan Jadhav. In January 2018, the Shiv Sena resolved to contest all future elections alone, sans an alliance with the BJP, and come to power. In an anti-climax, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and BJP national president Amit Shah sealed a formal tie-up for the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls. Another senior Shiv Sena functionary admitted that the alliance with the BJP was a Catch-22 situation. Shiv Sena sources claim that the NCP may stand to benefit from the party's electoral setbacks, in seats like Parbhani, Shirur, Raigad, Buldhana and Amravati.

Source: dna May 09, 2019 00:45 UTC