The Shinde Sena’s inner circle and friends from other parties (read the BJP) are learnt to have had a hand in the advertisement campaign that attempted to create (or widen?) the rift between CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis. It didn’t look like a knee-jerk reaction to the news that the BJP high command had asked for dropping five Sena ministers and its posturing of a dominant big brother in Thane and Kalyan, so to say, in the entire state. But it looked like a response given with a purpose and the understanding of what would come next from the people concerned—especially the supporters of Fadnavis, whose rivals within the party are on the rise and active these days. 

The media planners ensured that the BJP and PM Narendra Modi were not belittled in any way, but a message was sent out that the Shinde faction knew its worth in the present and future politics of the coalition. And, in doing that, they hit a coalition man of the BJP, Fadnavis. They made it look like Shinde versus Fadnavis; projected the CM as the most popular choice and caused heartburn in Camp Fadnavis.