In a country where xenophobia rages and political sops like concessions and reservations have always been easy substitutes for inclusive growth, the meteoric rise of the Shiv Sena came as no surprise.

Shiv Sena, when it was born in 1966, was seen as the need of the hour, giving a voice to the working class Marathis. Today, all the vaunted roles that the Sena once played in the state have become redundant.