India, Feb. 26 -- Constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are reeling from a poor showing in the local polls in Maharashtra that, following as it does their poor showing in the 2024 assembly election, now face a challenge that could test their resolve to stay united, and it comes from an unlikely source, Sharad Pawar.

This is ironic because the MVA, formed in November 2019, was the brainchild of Sharad Pawar, who outsmarted the NDA, which was poised to form the government, by weaning away the united Shiv Sena by offering to back party chief Uddhav Thackeray for the chief minister's office. While the alliance ruled till mid-2022, its formation set in motion a series of events that transformed Maharashtra politics in unexpected ways. T...