By Krishna Kumar PUBLISHED: 18:20 EST, 26 August 2013 | UPDATED: 18:25 EST, 26 August 2013 In the wake of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder in Pune and a photojournalist's gang-rape in Mumbai, a regional language news channel in Maharashtra carried the pictures of chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and home minister R R Patil with the caption 'Murda' (dead). It was a strong statement but one that aptly summed up the general sentiment against the government - in fact, the entire political class - across the state. The political leadership seems simply incapable of doing anything to stem the rot that the state had slipped into.
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NCP-Congress coalition feels the pressure mount over high-profile crimes
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Opposition parties turn on the heat claiming there is 'no law and order in the state'
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Political parties scramble to limit the impact on their electoral campaigns
This nervousness is betrayed by the fact that the @placeholder, which until two years ago was flexing its muscles and planning to go it alone in the next elections, seems to have changed its mind.