Behind the apparent bonhomie between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP is quietly giving shape to the plan of contesting all the 288 constituencies in state elections later this year.

Highly placed sources in the party said that the senior leadership has categorically told them to prepare for a solo fight. The BJP has 122 MLAs in the Maharashtra assembly and three more have joined the party. If it ties up with the Sena, both parties will get to contest on 140 seats each.

"After the tie-up, we will effectively get 15 extra seats to contest and increase our tally. Therefore, it is unviable contesting with the Shiv Sena," said a senior leader, requesting not to be named. He attributed their confidence to a recent survey that showed the BJP is likely to win over 150 seats.

"If we can form the next government on our own, we do not need the Sena. The party does want to miss out on this opportunity. Besides, today we are stronger than 2014," said the senior party functionary.

Constituents of the NDA, the BJP and Sena have blown hot and cold in the past five years. Just before the state elections in 2014, they parted ways. However, after the BJP emerged as the single-largest party, Sena joined the government.

The scene repeated in January this year, with the Sena snapping ties before the Lok Sabha polls. But it struck a conciliatory note after the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi earned a massive mandate.

BJP state president Chandrakant Patil on Saturday refused to share any details, saying he was busy in a meeting with working president JP Nadda and CM Fadnavis. However, Girish Mahajan, the senior-most BJP minister in Maharashtra cabinet, said theirs is a national party and it must have a presence in every nook and corner of the country.

"We always have to be ready with a Plan B, but that does not mean we are not contesting with the Shiv Sena. The seat-sharing with Shiv Sena is yet to happen, so we are looking at potential candidates in all seats," Mahajan said.

Another party insider said the CM has told those rival legislators, who are ready to switch side, not to join the Sena. "There are 20 Opposition MLAs who are willing to join the BJP. We may even give them tickets as the BJP is planning to contest the polls separately."

Sources said the CM's post will likely be the trigger for snapping off the BJP-Sena alliance. "The BJP neither wants to concede the CM's post nor share it with the Sena. On the other hand, Sena's Aditya Thackeray is harbouring CM ambitions. To further his cause, he recently started the Jan Ashirwad Yatra from Jalgaon. So all is not well with the parties," said a political observer.

Sena minister Ramdas Kadam said they are confident that "the BJP will ditch them like 2014". He said, "The top leadership had a meeting with our party president Uddhav Thackeray and everything is finalised. If they violate the agreement, then we have to also prepare for all 288 seats. As long as people are with us, we do not have to worry about anything."