It was evident from Thackeray's election meetings with large turnout. Though Thackeray's hard hitting attack on Sharad Pawar and Congress president Sonia Gandhi was well received, the audience was disappointed largely for party supremo's inability to offer innovative things to them.

A large number of youths, who had gathered here on Friday for BJP's election meeting, were largely displeased. In fact, some of them were unhappy over the saffron government's failure to do concrete for them. Thackeray's announcement on making available nearly five lakh employment avenues during the Shivshahi rule, did not click the youths either.

The ruling Shiv Sena, which had made definite inroads in the Marathwada region, a bastion of the Congress party since 1990, has been fighting for its survival. Thepolitically-sensitive Maratha community- which had voted wholeheartedly for the Sena during the 1995 assembly elections held against the backdrop of renaming of the Marathwada university after BR Ambedkar by the Sharad Pawar government, has found to be largely disappointed over the saffron rule in the state.

The Sena is contesting in all 29 assembly seats and four Lok Sabha seats while its electoral ally, BJP has fielded its nominees on 15 seats, one had been left for an independent candidate. BJP has nominated four candidates for the Lok Sabha seats.

An extensive tour in this area showed that there had been tremendous resentment against the saffron government for not fulfilling its election promises such as development of irrigation projects, bringing in more industrial projects and creating new jobs for the sons of soil.

In fact, the minister for rehabilitation Jaiprakash Mundada, who is trying his luck from the Basmati constituency in Parbhanai district, the cooperation minister and former chairmanof the Marathwada Statutory Development Board, Divakar Raote, the environment and forest minister Chandrakant Khaire, who is the Sena candidate for the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat, have come under severe attack from the own partymen for inaction or partial attitude. Moreover, former MP Pradeep Jaiswal, who had been denied ticket for the Aurangabd Lok Sabha seat, though has not staged a rebellion is not happy with the party decision.

The party insiders are not sure to retain its supremacy over the region where the Sena may lose heavily to the NCP.