Politics is all about thrust and parry, negotiations and gains. Nowhere is this equation better epitomised than between traditional allies, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena. At the moment, this sparring is in full swing between the Lok Sabha in Delhi and the state Assembly in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena, a long-standing yet bitter BJP ally that decided to bury the hatchet before elections to emerge as joint victors — the BJP with 23 Lok Sabha seats to Sena’s 18 — has decided to depart from its usual practice of not vying for an official post that goes back to party founder Bal Thackeray. 

In what can be called a generational shift, Sena has decided to pitch Thackeray scion Aaditya’s name for the state deputy chief minister’s post in the proposed cabinet expansion. If approved, it will be the first time a Thackeray will assume a political post. While hard-nosed negotiations are underway, BJP’s singular countrywide triumph does not mean that it can overlook its principal allies. The Sena’s stand has left it in a piquant situation because it has reportedly agreed to a YSR Congress candidate for the deputy speaker’s post in Lok Sabha, instead of giving it to Shiv Sena. 

In this friendly fire ahead of the Vidhan Sabha polls in September, the Sena will need a Thackeray to keep the cadre motivated. The BJP is also bound by its words: the Sena had agreed to an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls on the understanding that they would share seats and power equally in the Assembly and state government. Another condition was regardless of how many seats either of them wins, they will split the time spent occupying the CM’s post equally. A promise made before the elections is different ballgame from fulfilling them after the results are known. A promising encounter is on the cards.