When Atal Behari Vajpayee, Balsaheb Thackeray held them together

The Sena and the BJP tied up for the first time in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls, a sympathy wave following Indira Gandhi's assassination swept the country, helping the Congress.

The partners parted ways before the assembly polls in 1985. Chhagan Bhujbal, who was then with the Sena, was the sole candidate to be elected to the legislature from Mazgaon.

In 1989, the parties joined hands again, thanks to efforts by late Pramod Mahajan and late Bal Thackeray who shared a superb chemistry between them. The alliance put up a good show, with Sena getting 52 seats, while BJP bagged 42.

The partnership broke up during the BMC polls and the Sena lost control of the civic body in 1992. They campaigned together five years later and won.

As per Balasaheb's diktat, it was decided that BJP would be the bigger player at Centre, and Sena as the big brother in state.

In 1995, the saffron alliance came to the power, with Sena man Manohar Joshi getting the CM's post and BJP leader Gopinath Munde chosen as deputy CM.

Sena made Narayan Rane as CM in 1999 before the the assembly elections, but lost the polls. Despite that, the alliance remained intact as NDA under Atal Behari Vajpayee was in power at centre

Saffron coalition back in power in civic polls. Sena gets Mayor, deputy mayor post goes to BJP

The saffron alliance remained in opposition in state for 15 years. However, after Narendra Modi's charishma worked for BJP, it wanted more seats, leading to the break-up.

Painful moment for old-timers
"It's a very painful moment. The break-up will lead to division of saffron votes and ultimately help others," Sushila More, former upa-vibhag pramukh, Khetwadi. More is associated with party since its inception.

BJP should not challenge the Sena in its own state. They have become arrogant after the Lok Sabha elections. BJP needs to take a lesson from its poor show in recent by-polls Vijay Naik, ex-shakha pramukh, Grant Road