Riding high on the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) Lok Sabha performance in which the Opposition alliance secured 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state,  Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar addressed a public rally in Purandar in Pune district, three months before the announcement of the Assembly elections and declared it was time to change the government in the state.

The 84-year-old veteran politician travelled the length and breadth of the state, specifically targeting his stronghold of western Maharashtra, in the three months to stitch together alliances, enrol fresh blood in his party that was facing a litmus test against the NCP led by his nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and bring new faces into the poll arena.

Despite the efforts and the high expectations, the lack of mass appeal in the second-rank leadership of the NCP (SP) and the caste consolidation of anti-Maratha reservation groups led to his party’s rout as it ended at the bottom of the pile — the sixth among the six major parties — winning only 10 of the 86 seats it contested. On Friday, the former Union Agriculture Minister had assured his supporters that the MVA would win 157-162 seats.

The two NCPs squared off against each other in 36 constituencies, with the NCP winning 29, including the Pawar clan turf of Baramati, and Pawar’s outfit managing to bag only 7. Ajit Pawar’s party contested 59 seats and won 41, riding high on the popularity of the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and several other welfare schemes of the state government. The consolidation of non-Maratha communities, which seems to have hurt the NCP (SP), did not affect the NCP because of its alliance with the BJP.

“This is for the first time that he has not faced the media on an election result day,” a senior colleague of Pawar told The Indian Express, hinting that the party was reeling from shock about the results. A jubilant Ajit Pawar, however, refused to comment, saying this was not the time to talk about his win. When asked if there is a possibility of a merger between the two sides, Ajit said, “Right now, I have several issues of mine to be sorted out. Let me do that first. After that, I will look into other issues.”

When Ajit chose to join hands with the BJP last year, it split the party. At a time when several MLAs were leaving his side and he was asked who would stand by him, Pawar raised his finger indicating he would stand alone if needed. Throughout his political career, the veteran faced several political adversities. After the Lok Sabha polls results, all eyes were set on him and there was an expectation of a repeat in the Assembly polls. But that did not come to pass.

While nobody from the NCP (SP) chose to make a public comment on the defeat, the party now stares at the Herculean task of regaining the lost momentum and rebuilding the organisation from scratch. “We virtually have zero presence in the Assembly now. The real fight will have to be on the streets and among people. That’s the only way forward for us,” said one NCP (SP) leader. There is also a question about the political future of Pawar, who had hinted days before the polls that this could be his last election.

When addressing a press conference along with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and fellow Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, the CM jokingly poked Ajit Pawar and said, “Now, the people of Maharashtra have shown who is the real NCP.” To this, Ajit replied, “And the real Shiv Sena, too.”

Even though the Pawars publicly said the bitterness in politics would not affect the family, the campaign by Pawar’s wife Pratibha Pawar against Ajit seems to have hurt him. When asked about this, the Deputy CM said, “Yes, I was hurt. I consider her as my mother and never imagined that she would campaign against me. I don’t want to comment on it further.”