In a remarkable validation of their standing and connect with the masses, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar have emerged as the undisputed leaders of the real Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) respectively in Maharashtra.
As trends firmed up after 9 hours of counting in the Lok Sabha polls, Thackeray's Shiv Sena was leading in 9 seats while Pawar's NCP was ahead in 7 constituencies across the state. In a stark contrast, the rebel factions led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were trailing far behind with leads in just 7 and 1 seat respectively.
Overall, the INDIA alliance was leading in 27 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, outperforming the BJP which was ahead in 20 seats as of 4:30 pm.
The impressive show by Team Thackeray and Team Pawar is a resounding response to the turmoil they faced last year when their parties faced vertical splits - with Shinde and Ajit Pawar rebelling against Thackeray and the senior Pawar to join forces with the BJP.
As trends started favoring the original Sena and NCP, celebratory posters emerged outside Shiv Sena's headquarters 'Sena Bhavan' questioning "Who is the real Shiv Sena? People have shown."
Maharashtra has witnessed a dramatic churn in its political landscape since the 2019 polls when the BJP and the unified Shiv Sena had swept the state winning 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats while the NCP got just 4 and Congress 1.
The two allies then had a fallout over the Chief Minister's post after the assembly polls, leading to Thackeray joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. However, his stint was cut short after two years when Shinde engineered a rebellion.
Addressing the media, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar said these elections represent a "change" in the country and hailed the people of Maharashtra for playing a pivotal role.
"I'm proud of the people of Maharashtra," said the 82-year-old who had to fight off a mutiny from his nephew Ajit Pawar in the run-up to the polls.
The strong performance of the original Sena and NCP has added a new dimension to the battle in Maharashtra ahead of the all-important assembly polls due in a few months from now.
