A little over a month to go for the assembly elections, the BJP in Maharashtra appears to be split in the middle over its alliance with the Shiv Sena, fuelled by a game of one-upmanship and future ambitions.
On one side of the chessboard is Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who apparently shares an excellent rapport with Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. Facing him is state party president Chandrakant Patil, said sources.
"Chandrakant Patil's group is confident that the BJP can form the next government on its own. The BJP does not need the Sena to lean on. In 2014, we had no major resources still we won 122 of the 288 seats. Today, we have everything," a highly placed source from BJP told DNA.