For Uddhav Thackeray, known for his reticence to take on the BJP, the split ahead of the state assembly polls was his boldest political move yet. Unwilling to accept the BJP’s contribution to his party’s 18-seat haul in the Lok Sabha, Uddhav instead spoke about the Sena’s contribution to the victory of 42 NDA MPs in Maharashtra.

“That was pointless, because eight of his former MPs were in touch with NCP for tickets for the 2014 elections, and it was only after sensing the Modi wave that they decided to stay back in the party,” a Sena MP later told this reporter privately.