GMAT Sentence Correction (SC) | Re: Although realizing late that it had failed to honor its own stalwart

E. Although it realized late that it had failed to honor its own stalwart Sardar Patel, the ruling United Front targeting the opposition Democratic Party over the party's alleged attempts to 'appropriate' Patel's legacy by constructing the 'Statue of Unity', a monument billed to be the world's tallest and a fitting tribute to India's first Home Minister, said that opposition’s attempts would ultimately bite the dust

Hello - in E it say 'realized late' meaning past tense