There is no end to the twists and turns in the Shiv Sena-BJP drama, stretching all the way to Delhi while keeping the hopes of an alliance flickering in Maharashtra. If there is one takeaway from Uddhav Thackeray’s press conference on Sunday evening, it is the Sena’s enchantment with power. To sit in the opposition is not a lucrative option for the party as it increasingly finds itself in a tight corner. From being a natural partner in the saffron alliance once, it is reduced to a party whose political fortunes depend on the BJP’s magnanimity. It’s banking on an olive branch that the BJP might extend before November 12 — the day when the Devendra Fadnavis government has to prove its majority in the assembly.

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Sunday began on an acrimonious note with the Sena, having received yet another royal snub from the BJP, boycotting the swearing-in ceremony of Modi’s expanded Cabinet. Its Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, who was apparently due for a Cabinet berth, was offered a Minister of State (MoS) post at the last minute. However, what had really rubbed salt into the Sena’s wounds was the induction of Suresh Prabhu into the Cabinet on BJP quota. Prabhu had proved his mettle as the power minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. But his uneasy relationship with Matoshree had stunted his political growth. Prabhu’s switching over to the BJP on Sunday after years of being a Sena leader had solely to do with his proximity with Modi.

For any self-respecting leader, the humiliating turn of events should have been the trigger to call off the alliance. But Uddhav is still soldiering on in the hope that the BJP will finally cede some ground as a face-saver for its ally. He continues, simultaneously, to make noises in the media that his party, if the situation arises, is ready to sit in the opposition. Meanwhile, Uddhav has learnt the hard way that arm-twisting the BJP is a thing of the past. It was clear from the start that the BJP didn’t take the rupture of its decades-old alliance too kindly — Uddhav calling Narendra Modi names had aggravated that insult. Not the one to forget the invectives hurled at him, Modi has chosen not to attach too much sentiment to a juncture in his political life when Bal Thackeray had extended support to the then Gujarat Chief Minister following the Godhra riots.

Uddhav’s political immaturity lies in his confidence that he can command the same respect that his father enjoyed during his heyday. What he tends to forget is that Thackeray’s clout had a lot to do with his personal equations with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde. The Sena was then a force to reckon with. In the vastly different political reality of today, neither Amit Shah nor Modi will put up with the Sena’s tantrums. Uddhav should have realised that the BJP is slowly but surely casting away regional allies in order to have a firm grip at both the Centre and state levels.

If he truly wants to keep the Sena relevant in the political discourse, Uddhav has to effect a radical overhaul of his party. It should begin with abandoning Sena’s raison d’être — Marathi asmita, which has lost both steam and credibility. The Modi juggernaut was powered by the dreams of development and smart, effective governance. By following constructive agendas, Uddhav can put the roar back into the ageing tiger of a Sena.