Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's discomfort didn't seem to have ended till Sunday evening. When he was poised to have a smooth sailing in the legislative council elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) created a further roadblock-like situation for the head of the state. The polling on May 21 would be inevitable for nine seats unless the Congress withdraws one candidate from the fray. There were reports that the chief minister (CM) ruthlessly threatened that he would not contest if the Congress did not step back. The trick worked. State Congress president, Balasaheb Thorat, who unilaterally announced the second candidate on Saturday night, declared 24 hours later that the CM's 'request for unopposed contest' would be honoured.

The election would make Thackeray a legislator before May 27 to have an uninterrupted run in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). A constitutional crisis arising out of the CM's inability to remain in office could have gone against the MVA. It is no longer a secret that the programme for May 21 election has come as a political deal between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP opposed the CM's nomination in the governor's quota and created a situation wherein Thackeray had to seek the BJP leadership's help.