Maharashtra is no stranger to the politics of alliances, but the current government has taken ‘partnership’ to yet another level, thanks to the Shiv Sena’s posturing as a prime opposition party despite being in power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The voters who propelled the BJP and Sena to a victory of more than 180 seats, albeit separately, are utterly confused. The parties people relegated to the opposition benches — the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party — find themselves jobless because of the Sena’s aggression against the Devendra Fadnavis government. And the Sena has a motive.

Sena’s fight, which started in December over the demand for lucrative departments in the government, later saw its junior ministers complain against BJP’s senior ministers (who hold the main charge) for not delegating work. At every cabinet meeting, Sena ministers take potshots at the BJP. In an attempt to prove its pro-farmer approach, the Sena has slammed the Fadnavis government time and again. Party president Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya lead the attack from the front and party mouthpiece Saamana spits venom so fervently that the BJP has asked its ally to mind the edits in the newspaper.