MNS in a soup despite mayoral polls victory

The change in political alignment in the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) for the mayoral election has rejuvenated the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and revealed consolidation of the traditional political fronts in the run-up to the state assembly elections.
After being dumped by ally BJP, the MNS has been able to retain power in the civic body with the help of the Congress, NCP and independents.Losing power in the NMC despite being the single-largest party would have led to disastrous political consequences for the MNS in the coming assembly elections.
Retaining power in the NMC, however, might turn out to be just a silver lining in the cloud. By taking support of the Congress and the NCP, the MNS has landed itself in a quandary, as in the 2012 NMC election campaign, the MNS had targeted the "bad governance" of these parties in the government. Besides, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had launched a scathing campaign against senior NCP leader and guardian minister of Nashik district Chhagan Bhujbal. The new political alignment may turn out to be a hindrance for Thackeray while campaigning in the assembly polls against the state government run by the Congress-NCP alliance.
To keep the MNS in check, the Congress and the NCP have exhibited some "shrewdness" in extending support from outside, without sharing power in the NMC. The MNS would now be at the mercy of the Congress and NCP in the civic body.
After the recent Lok Sabha elections, the political climate changed. With the BJP sweeping the polls, the Congress, NCP and the MNS went into poll mode. In Nashik, the BJP, which had ditched its traditional ally Shiv Sena in 2012 to form the ruling coalition in the NMC, decided to snap its ties with the MNS. The eye was obviously on the on the assembly polls.
The Congress and NCP, too, came to the rescue of the MNS in the civic body and helped Thackeray salvage his party's maiden power centre. The strategy would help the Congress and NCP not only to tame Thackeray, but also to use him against the Sena-BJP alliance in the assembly elections. Incidentally, it was the Congress that had promoted the Shiv Sena during its formation days and one of its founding fathers was Ramrao Adik, a Congressman. The Congress and its ally NCP,would need the MNS to act as a spoiler for the saffron combine.
For the MNS, the victory of its corporator Ashok Murtadak as the mayor, albeit with the Congress-NCP support, has come as a face-saver in the run-up to the assembly elections. After the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the MNS had emerged a divided house with warring groups engaged in one up-manship in Nashik, the bastion of the party. Recently, Thackeray had made some organisational changes, promoting the Uttamrao Dhikale group (by making Dhikale's son Rahul as the standing committee chairman and also the party's Nashik city president), thereby snubbing the rival group led by general secretary and MLA Vasant Gite. The organisational changes had made matters worse and the political prospects of the MNS were at stake. Hence, when Thackeray decided to nominate Murtadak as the mayoral candidate on Friday, it became amply clear that the Gite group has been placated as Murtadak is Gite's aide.
For the city, the rule of the MNS for another 60 months would continue, albeit at the mercy of the Congress-NCP. The performance of the MNS has not been impressive and the party has nothing major to showcase as its achievement. The change in political alignment may not be a game changer for the city at all.