The separation has been announced. The formal divorce is awaited. People say there could be an out of (public) court settlement, though the estranged partner says there will be no rolling back on the decision that has been announced to the extended family. Meanwhile, the two warring partners continue to share the roof under which they have been staying. The reason for the estrangement of one partner is the smaller compartment that he found very uncomfortable for living. He feared that he could be thrown out. So, he decided it was better to move out in protest, keeping his pride intact.

That's the Shiv Sena and BJP's love story for us. Since every love story must have its villain, a dramatic change in the three-decade-old relationship was blamed on Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. BJP president Shah fanned the Modi wave so ferociously that Sena was dropped like a hot brick. But BJP fell short of stabilising a minority government in Maharashtra. Strategists backed the old partner and won its support, but the deal they struck with the Sena didn't satisfy Uddhav Thackeray. In the past three years, Thackeray's rants haven't moved BJP an inch. Every time Thackeray warned BJP of dire consequences, it wasn't the partner but opposition parties that questioned his pact with it, saying, "If you are so angry and unhappy, why can't you quit the government in the state and centre?" Thackeray's unwavering response was, "I shall when the proper time comes."