MNS: An enigma in Maharashtra politics

In the 2012 civic elections, the MNS captured 28 seats in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, 29 in Pune, 27 in Kalyan-Dombivli and rules the Nashik civic body as the head of a coalition. By then, it had already become the fifth important factor in state politics after the Congress, NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena.

With the 2014 Lok Sabha elections looming on the horizon, the BJP started taking note of the MNS - beginning with Raj Thackeray's high-profile trip to view the "development in Gujarat" under Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2010.

Not only did Modi get a new fan with full-throated admiration, Raj Thackeray also sowed the first seeds that Modi was "prime ministerial" material - while BJP ally Shiv Sena watched everything in quiet consternation.

Raj Thackeray even took up the developmental agenda - but, with the aggressive image acquired earlier, it lacked credibility or takers.

With Bal Thackeray's death in 2012, the ambitious BJP explored newer pastures and started overtly and covertly courting the MNS.

It ended in near-disaster for both sides as the Shiv Sena threatened to quit its 25-year-old alliance with the BJP.