Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
Police in Pune have registered a case against members of the MNS students' wing for allegedly barging into the ABVP's office following a dispute over posters at a college.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
Ruling allies BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will contest 137 and 90 seats, respectively, in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls. A seat-sharing pact was revealed by Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam on Monday.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut claimed on Sunday that many newly elected Shiv Sena corporators, who originally belonged to the Bal Thackery-founded party before its division, do not want a Bharatiya Janata Party mayor in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demands cancellation of civic elections where candidates won unopposed, alleging corruption and manipulation by ruling parties. He also criticizes the Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker and the misuse of BMC funds.
Thackeray said that the MNS will contest more seats than any other party.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismisses the alliance between Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's parties as a move for political survival, asserting it won't significantly impact Mumbai's political landscape. BJP leader Ashish Shelar questions the motives behind the reunion, highlighting past criticisms and the Thackerays' changing stances.
Maharashtra heads to the polls for 29 municipal corporations, with Mumbai's BMC election taking center stage as the BJP-led Mahayuti faces off against the Thackeray front. Key issues include promises for women, pollution control, and the city's financial health.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Amid speculation in political circles over Shiv Sena's stand vis-a-vis the next mayor of Mumbai, party leader and minister Uday Samant said the civic body polls were contested as the Mahayuti alliance.
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faces a crucial test in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra after being defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti in recent local polls. Political observers are calling the upcoming contest for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, a mini assembly election.
The Shiv Sena has shifted its 29 members to a hotel in Mumbai, ostensibly for an orientation workshop to make them aware of the functioning of the country's richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
Counting of votes has begun in the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, with a focus on the Mumbai battle between the BJP-led alliance and the Thackeray factions.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are leading in the early trends of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls in Maharashtra. Counting began on Monday morning for elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis.
The Congress party experienced a significant decline in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning a mere 15 seats out of 227. Analysts attribute the poor performance to strategic missteps, infighting, and a failure to connect with voters amidst linguistic and religious polarization.
Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, cousins and leaders of rival political parties, came together at Bal Thackeray's memorial on his 13th death anniversary, fueling speculation of a possible alliance ahead of local body polls.
In a viral video, Yerunkar alleged a mismatch in the polling data and EVM numbers. He received only two votes at the polling centre where four members of his family voted, he said, questioning the count.
On reports of the BJP opposing the NCP merger, Fadnavis asserted that his party hasn't opposed anyone.
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
The Maharashtra government, led by CM Devendra Fadnavis, will petition the central government to rename IIT Bombay as IIT Mumbai, following controversy over a Union minister's remarks on the institute's name. The move comes amid political tensions and concerns about the city's identity.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS senses an opportunity after the Shiv Sena-UBT candidate's lead fell to less than 7,000 votes in the Worli assembly segment during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for January 15, even as the Opposition parties alleged the ruling combine used threats and money to force candidates to withdraw from the fray.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited MNS president Raj Thackeray's residence during the Ganesh festival, following a similar visit by Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde subtly criticized Uddhav and emphasized the non-political nature of his visit.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
While the MNS had fielded 125 candidates, the VBA had 200 candidates in the fray.
He said that ruling party MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) have also spoken about the duplication of voters and irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS are likely to form an alliance for the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra, with the final decision expected closer to the election date. Leaders from both parties acknowledge public pressure and the need to rejuvenate their cadres after poor performances in previous elections.
The current political scenario in the state was like chikhal (wet, slippery mud) with party lines blurring and people must ensure politicians are held accountable for their deeds, Thackeray said.
Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray visited MNS president Raj Thackeray on Ganesh Chaturthi, further fueling speculation of a potential alliance between the two parties ahead of local body elections.
The numbers tell us the BJP's acceptability in Maharashtra is growing -- at the expense of the Shiv Sena, no matter what the faction, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress party extends best wishes to the newly-elected Vice President of India, C P Radhakrishnan, while recalling the words of the first Vice President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on the importance of free criticism in a democracy.
Top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi, including Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, will lead the Opposition's November 1 protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in voters' lists.
Many office-bearers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have resigned in protest after their party chief Raj Thackeray declared support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the state.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray met CM Devendra Fadnavis, leading to speculation about political alliances. They discussed urban planning issues like parking solutions. The meeting follows a defeat for the Sena (UBT)-MNS panel in BEST credit society polls.
