Even as the Congress and NCP are steps ahead of their political rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have not yet found a path that can unite them before elections. The Sena reiterated on Thursday that it wanted the chief minister's (CM) post in Maharashtra if the BJP wished its support in a pre-poll alliance for the Lok Sabha. The BJP hasn't taken an official stand but is making covert efforts to reach out to the estranged ally.

Unconfirmed information on Thursday said that the Sena had given BJP 48 hours to accept its conditional deal and end the impasse, or else it would start an election campaign this weekend.