With Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray issuing belligerent statements against the BJP leadership, the stage seems set for an ongoing war of attrition between the two oldest alliance partners in the NDA-- the BJP and Shiv Sena.
In his characteristic style, Thackeray made it clear that he couldn't care less if his party did not remain in the NDA. He also pooh-poohed the suggestion that the BJP might dump his party in Maharashtra.