Sharad Pawar on Monday said the rift between the BJP and the Shiv Sena “appears serious” and would not rule out a political realignment to form the government in Maharashtra.

Minutes after discussing the situation in the state with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Pawar said: “Nobody has asked us for support so far; let them talk to us. We haven’t been given any proposal. I’m going to Mumbai tomorrow for discussions with local Congress-NCP leaders. I will return to meet Sonia Gandhi again. I shall be able to talk about government formation after that.”

A politician as shrewd as Pawar choosing to speak this language after meeting Sonia suggests they are not averse to dancing on the grave of the Sena-BJP relationship if it comes to that.

What this position clearly establishes is that the Congress-NCP is willing to step into the boxing ring if the Sena decides to fight the BJP.

With no mention of ideological incompatibility, Pawar’s assertions almost sounded like an invitation to the Sena to walk out of the alliance with the BJP and negotiate terms with him.

While he did state the obvious — that the BJP-Sena had the popular mandate to form the government — the veteran politician artfully hinted at the post-poll strain.

“The Sena has taken a strong line against the BJP. They are constantly writing in their mouthpiece against the BJP, demanding the chief minister’s post. The writing clearly shows the Sena wants a government under their leadership. It’s not a game, it appears serious, ” Pawar said.

To a question on the possibility of an alternative government minus the BJP, Pawar said: “As of today, we don’t have the numbers. It’s the responsibility of the BJP and the Sena to form the government. But how the situation will unfold cannot be predicted at this moment.”

Pawar is too seasoned a player to stick his neck out without a thorough understanding of the situation and concrete hints from the Sena leadership, although he insisted nobody had talked to him.

Asked about his meeting with Sena leader Sanjay Raut, Pawar said they were friends and met quite often.

Contending that any formal negotiation on government formation would take place only with Uddhav Thackeray, he expressed his opposition to the imposition of President’s rule, again indicating his preference for an alternative government if the BJP failed to sew up majority.

Thrice he said “As of today, we don’t have the numbers,” clearly an admission that the game was open.

The Congress leadership chose to stay aloof, while party sources said it was now up to the Sena to take the plunge.

The Congress is clearly not willing to take the lead because dealing with a party like the Sena is fraught with risks.

A senior leader said: “We have made up our mind to extend support to any alternative government as our MLAs are interested in keeping the BJP out. But we have ensured that it looks like a Pawar initiative because the political fallout of any disaster relating to this project can have consequences for the Congress across the entire country.”

Many Congress leaders — both from Maharashtra and the central leadership — still have doubts about the Sena’s ability to execute its threats.

“We have seen the Sena’s rhetoric in the past. We will be happy if they walk out and explore new options. But until a formal proposal is placed on the table, our leadership will not take any public stand.”

The situation will be clearer in the next 48 hours. Everything now depends on the BJP’s oldest ally.