The BJP’s achche din juggernaut rolls on. Tripling its numbers in an assembly election is no mean feat. But Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are on a roll. This partnership has brought in more laurels to the BJP than the Vajpayee-Advani partnership. One victory after another. And nobody is complaining though some, even in the BJP, do seem a bit overwhelmed.

In Maharashtra, the BJP had just under one month to cope with the loss of its regional ally, set a poll agenda, chart out a strategy for going it alone, bear the barbs of the Shiv Sena and face the electorate without a chief minister candidate. What did it have going for it? An anti-incumbency factor against the Congress-NCP combine and a Modi wave in the country. Maharashtra did not give a clear verdict in favour of the BJP. With all parties going solo, this fractured mandate should not have been a surprise but pollsters and the media probably got carried away with the wave-factor.