After Mahayuti’s BJP-led BJP’s stellar success in the BMC polls, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reportedly moved quickly to shift newly elected Shiv Sena corporators to a Bandra hotel as a precautionary measure amid fears of defection at a time of intense political jockeying. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray (UBT) struck a defiant note as he said the “fight is not over” even as his party lost control of India’s richest civic body after 25 years.
Apart from X’s post, Uddhav Thackeray – addressing Shiv Sena (UBT) workers in Mumbai also said, “You all are the real architects of this success; we are only the medium. The result that has come under such circumstances is indeed a matter of pride.”
Follow the latest updates on Maharashtra election results here
Ekanth Shinde’s “hotel” move and Uddhava Thackeray’s defiant remark come as the BMC verdict has drawn curtains on the undivided Shiv Sena’s nearly three-decade-old stranglehold on Mumbai – with the BJP emerging as the single largest party.
Slim margin – what are the numbers behind Shinde’s hotel move?
In the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the majority mark is 114. As per the final count, the BJP has secured 89 seats, while its ally – Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, 29, giving the ruling Mahayuti alliance a total of 118 – a slender margin of just four seats short of the majority mark.
BJP workers celebrate as the party leads during the counting of votes for the Solapur Municipal Corporation elections, in Solapur, Maharashtra, on Friday. The BJP scored a landslide victory in western Maharashtra, sweeping key urban civic bodies and marginalizing the Congress, NCP and other opposition parties in most cities. (PTI)(HT_PRINT)
After Mahayuti’s BJP-led BJP’s stellar success in the BMC polls, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reportedly moved quickly to shift newly elected Shiv Sena corporators to a Bandra hotel as a precautionary measure amid fears of defection at a time of intense political jockeying. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray (UBT) struck a defiant note as he said the “fight is not over” even as his party lost control of India’s richest civic body after 25 years.
Apart from X’s post, Uddhav Thackeray – addressing Shiv Sena (UBT) workers in Mumbai also said, “You all are the real architects of this success; we are only the medium. The result that has come under such circumstances is indeed a matter of pride.”
Follow the latest updates on Maharashtra election results here
Ekanth Shinde’s “hotel” move and Uddhava Thackeray’s defiant remark come as the BMC verdict has drawn curtains on the undivided Shiv Sena’s nearly three-decade-old stranglehold on Mumbai – with the BJP emerging as the single largest party.
Slim margin – what are the numbers behind Shinde’s hotel move?
In the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the majority mark is 114. As per the final count, the BJP has secured 89 seats, while its ally – Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, 29, giving the ruling Mahayuti alliance a total of 118 – a slender margin of just four seats short of the majority mark.
Besides, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, which contested solo despite being in the Mahayuti, won three awards.
How well did the opposition score?
On the opposition side, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Nirman Sena (MNS), led by the Thackeray cousins, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) came together to take on the BJP-led alliance.
While the Sena (UBT) finished second by securing 65 seats, the MNS won six seats and the NCP (SP) one – taking their combined strength to 72 seats.
Separately, the Indian National Congress won 24 seats with its “solo act”; NCP-SP – one; AIMIM- eight and Samajwadi Party – two seats.
If all opposition parties close ranks to prevent the BJP-led Mahayuta from taking control of the BMC, their total strength would rise to 106 — still eight seats short of the majority mark, but close enough to make the contest delicately balanced.
Now that control of India’s richest civic body is at stake, that narrow cushion leaves little room for error. Amid fears of last-minute defections or poaching that could upset the balance, Shinde moved his newly elected corporators to a hotel to keep the numbers intact during the politically sensitive phase.