These days New Delhi is abuzz with political leaders from states where the Bharatiya Janata Party has pre-poll alliances. From Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party have their chiefs frequenting the national capital, apparently for talks with the BJP high command. Their concern is that they would be given a very small share to contest in the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. Ways and means are being explored to save CM Eknath Shinde, DCM Ajit Pawar and their respective rank and file, a big embarrassment ahead of their first major event post break-up.

The Opposition bloc, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, has begun ridiculing the Sena and NCP splinters over the seat-sharing formula, to be ‘enforced’ by the BJP. No wonder, the morale of the breakaway camps is sagging, and as a result, some second-rung leaders, apparently frustrated and angry, have been gunning for the BJP. Some of them have delivered anti-BJP content that created quite a flutter. The BJP leaders have given them a fitting reply. Unlike previous instances, no leader has been asked to follow restraint while speaking against the ally.