Ajit Pawar on Tuesday doused Devendra Fadnavis's dreams as abruptly as he had ignited them in the wee hours of Saturday. The NCP leader's decision to quit as deputy CM gave rise to a lot of speculation: Was his bid to prop a BJP government a failed gamble? Or was he indeed a Trojan Horse sent by the wily Sharad Pawar?

Either way, Ajit Pawar's moves have achieved two things: inflicted humiliation on the BJP juggernaut, which has brazenly formed government in state after state irrespective of whether it had the numbers or not, and tried to do the same in Maharashtra; and ensured that President's rule was swiftly lifted in the state, and paved the way for the Maha Vikas Aghadi to stake claim, just the way his uncle Sharad Pawar would have wanted.