The stubborn stand the Shiv Sena took by not supporting royal family scion Sambhaji Raje Bhosale in the Rajya Sabha elections played a major role in the present crisis in the party as well as the MVA government, say political analysts. Had the Sena backed Bhosale and not fielded own Sanjay Pawar, all candidates would have been elected and the mood of the MLAs and independents would not have turned sour.

BJP smelled blood following Sena’s setback it RS polls. Then the Congress repeated a similar blunder in the Council polls and fell flat on the face. Successive setbacks in a matter of few days were enough to spur the rebels to choose their own path with generous help from the BJP.