Two years ago, when the Shiv Sena fractured into two factions and Eknath Shinde aligned with the BJP, backed by 40 MLAs, many political observers viewed it as the conch-call heralding the end of his political career. The sentiment was that Shinde, as Maharashtra chief minister, would be a pawn in the hands of the BJP and his faction would soon see a mass exodus to the Uddhav Thackeray camp.
