Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2014: The point of no return

The seat-sharing tangle between the Shiv Sena and the BJP appeared to have been nearly sorted among the parties and their junior partners by midnight on Wednesday. But matters took a turn for the worse as the meeting stretched into the wee hours of Thursday.

Sena and BJP leaders met again on Thursday morning, after which they made diametrically opposite statements to the media.

BJP state chief Devendra Fadnavis said the Shiv Sena's proposals were unacceptable to his party and the smaller allies and that the BJP core committee would take the final call.

Soon afterward, Sena senior leader Diwakar Raote attacked the BJP, accusing Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the BJP leader in charge of the party's affairs in Maharashtra, of making unnecessary remarks about a possible split in the alliance.

"We regret that the BJP is eager to snap ties. There is a question mark over the survival of the alliance," Raote said. "If the BJP unilaterally decides on the alliance the Shiv Sena will give a fitting reply."

Raote and Sena's Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai headed to meet Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence.

Soon after the BJP announced it was splitting from the Sena, Shiv Sainiks converged at the Thackeray residence in large numbers and shouted slogans against the BJP.

Sources in the Sena said that later in the evening Thackeray finalised the list of candidates and distributed the 'A' and 'B' forms for the party's nomination to these members.