Lord Palmerston had national interest in mind when he loftily declared, “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.” But there’s something universal about these words, and the thesis is equally applicable to politics.

Indeed, with both the alliances that dominated Maharashtra politics for long collapsing almost simultaneously, it could well be said, and said without recourse to skulduggery, that political parties have no permanent friends or foes; they have permanent interests. You could say that for politicians too.