Maharashtra’s MVA seems to be going the way of the INDIA bloc, that disintegrated over the Delhi Assembly elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) said its workers wanted to go solo in the local body elections. It wasn’t out of context. Sena (undivided) had fought independently of the BJP in 2017 in Mumbai and elsewhere in the state. The Congress and undivided NCP depended largely on the local workers’ sentiments while deciding on a pre-poll alliance. The same strategy worked for the BJP and Sena. These parties have fought against each other in past local body polls. But some seem to have a short-term memory.

The Congress cried foul, but NCP (Sharad Pawar) saw substance in the Sena’s approach, saying that going alone allowed local leaders to lead, contest and win. However, the Congress felt isolated by the statements, more so after the AAP got most of the INDIA allies on its side in Delhi where Congress will be up against the AAP allies and BJP in the country’s capital. J&K CM Omar Abdullah has asked for the dissolution of the INDIA bloc. It is now for the Congress to ponder over the reasons behind its isolation.