Plus, a goodish number of Maratha heavyweights from Western Maharashtra were contesting as Ajit Pawar NCP ... while Mahayuti was seen as a project launcher. In India's richest state with many urban centres, this was a major election advantage.

Shinde, who steered the Shiv Sena faction to an electoral sweep, claims his initiatives, especially the Ladli Behan scheme (Marathi version of Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behina scheme), propelled Mahayuti to victory. His camp argues that replacing him could undermine the coalition’s stability, especially with crucial civic elections looming.

The ruling Mahayuti has won 234 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra elections, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party, winning 132 seats on its own.