Those who closely followed developments post-election results in March 1995 when the Shiv Sena-BJP combine was all set to assume power will recall that it was not Manohar Joshi but his party colleague and close relative Sudhir Joshi who was the first choice for the CM’s post.

But a call by an influential state politician, backed by a few more by top corporate houses, made all the difference and Sudhir Joshi had to be content with a ministership. Shiv Sainiks appeared stunned with the twists and turns of the political manoeuvre; many of them were close to Sudhir Joshi as he was president of one of the most powerful wings of Shiv Sena, the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti, founded to ensure jobs for ‘sons of the soil’. But they did not react mainly because any uttering by then party chief Bal Thackeray was taken as the final word.