Mumbai: With results coming in, the seat of power in Maharashtra appears to no longer lie solely with the BJP anymore - but with the NCP and Shiv Sena.
As of now, the BJP is leading in 100 seats; the Shiv Sena in 62; and the NCP in 52. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had emerged as the clear victor with 122 seats, just 23 seats short of the majority mark. Shiv Sena had 63 seats.
That BJP is trailing in 23 seats that it won last election and this is likely to give Shiv Sena - an alliance partner that has increasingly grown uncomfortable with the Modi-led BJP's domination in national politics - more power in the partnership, effectively making Sena more dominant in the partnership.
The results also throw up two other possibilities. Apart from a Shiv Sena and BJP alliance, experts have also suggested that the NCP leading at 52 seats, and the Congress leading on 38 seats, that the possibility of an alliance between Sena, NCP and the Congress can't be ruled out.
For Maharashtra, a key question was the impact that results have on the political equation between BJP and Sena. In 2014, BJP won 122 seats in the state, while Shiv Sena won 63 - effectively making the Modi-Shah-led BJP the 'big brother' in the alliance.
The traditional alliance between the two parties has since been stormy, with Sena repeatedly attacking the BJP on different fronts. For the NCP too, particularly its chief Sharad Pawar, it was important to become the face of the opposition and ensure that the Congress, without a face of its own, takes a backseat.
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