Parting ways: It was well-orchestrated and planned months ago

The break-up in both camps were planned at least four months ago. Immediately after Lok Sabha results were out, NCP as well as BJP had decided it was time to part ways!

Former deputy CM Ajit Pawar was the first to suggest all political outfits go solo. Soon, Chagan Bhujbal joined the chorus, saying it was time for a reality check. "Every party claims it's strong and want more seats. Let everyone fight on its own and find out," Bhujbal had said.

Top NCP sources said these statements had been made to create a favorable atmosphere before parting ways. "At the same time, to provoke parties like BJP and Sena to think on different lines. The rift in other parties nullified the anti-NCP environment in state. We have a solid rural base. Going with Congress with less number of seats would not have been the right move. Had Sena and BJP fought together and NCP gone solo, that would have damaged us. We wanted all parties to contest on their own. In multi-cornered fights, we will surely emerge the winner. It was a conscious decision," said a senior NCP minister.

In Lok Sabha polls, NCP won four and Congress two, though Congress had contested more. "We lost many seats because of the anti-Congress atmosphere. Our two candidates, including Sunil Tatkare, lost by thin margins.

In the recent municipal elections, NCP bagged the maximum number of corporations. This is the right time to go solo; support for Congress is ebbing. They do not have a strong leadership either. Hence, we took a calculated risk," said an NCP legislator.

Vidarbha, bone of contention
BJP too had its plan-B ready. "Seat sharing was not the bone of contention. The real issue was separate Vidarbha. Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis desperately want a separate Vidarbha. But Sena is against that. When these leaders realised that if Uddhav became the CM on account of Sena winning more seats, Thackeray would never support the demand for a separate Vidarbha," said a political observer.

A BJP leader said: "If Vidarbha becomes a state, BJP will easily come to power there. RSS has its head quarters in Nagpur, but a BJP leader has never become the CM of Maharashtra. If Vidarbha becomes a state, the RSS-BJP dream can be fulfilled. Hence, BJP decided to split with Sena in the name of seat-sharing issue. If we get more seats in Maharashtra, we will take Sena support, and a BJP leader can become CM," said a BJP leader from Vidarbha.

Moreover, BJP legislator Madhu Chavan had, in July, told a party workers' meeting that BJP would like to go it alone.