Even as the BJP basks in the celebration of its victory in two northeastern states and is set to be part of the Conrad Sangma government in Meghalaya, the party’s performance in the recent bypolls has been worrying. Especially in Maharashtra’s Kasbapeth by-election, it had to face defeat after 27 years, and that too at a time when assembly elections are to be held here only next year. This is a Brahmin-dominated seat where Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had thrown all his might, yet the seat was wrested from the hands of the BJP by the Mahaghadi alliance. In the struggle to prove Shinde’s Shiv Sena as real, the BJP’s ground in Maharashtra has started to rupture a bit. Even though the ‘arrow and bow’ symbol has been snatched from Uddhav’s group and handed over to Shinde, Uddhav still proves to be the real shooter. Shinde’s Shiv Sena is going to embark on a yatra to show it as the real Shiv Sena, which is in a way also in response to Uddhav’s yatra. While Uddhav will go from village to village in his journey to strengthen his old ties with Thackeray loyalists i.e. real Shiv Sainiks, the Shinde faction’s real challenge will be to prove themselves as real Shiv Sainiks. The BJP top is already brainstorming for Kasbapeth, where it feels a mistake has been made in choosing the candidate – Hemant Rasne, who was defeated by 11,000 votes. But for the time being, Shinde and Fadnavis team is dominating here overall.