MUMBAI: The Mahayuti alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, is storming ahead in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, according to trends. With leads in over 110 wards across the city, the alliance appears on course to end the three-decade reign of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) alliance struggles to cross 68, with MNS leading in just 9 seats, UBT Sena in 58, and the NCP (SP) barely holding one. Congress, too, faces a grim outlook, with leads in only 10 wards.
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High-profile battles are drawing attention. UBT’s Foram Parmar trails in Ward 1, while Gita Bhandari of the same faction is ahead in Ward 32. Shinde Sena’s Varsha Tembelkar is leading in Ward 51, and BJP candidates Deepak Tavde, Ujjwal Veti, and Neil Somaiya are showing strong leads. In Dharavi, Congress’ Asha Deepak Kale clinched Ward 183, offering a rare bright spot for the party.The political earthquake is not limited to Mumbai. In the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), BJP has displaced the Pawars, leading in 50 of 165 seats, while the two NCP factions trail with just 5 leads and the Congress-UBT alliance in 7. Official figures confirm BJP’s dominance with 47 leads, compared to 8 for NCP and 5 for Congress.Most exit polls had predicted a BJP-Shinde Sena wave, and preliminary trends suggest that the prediction is unfolding. If sustained, this result would mark the end of the 30-year incumbency of the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit in India’s richest civic body.In majority of rallies, MNS chief Raj Thackeray called for Marathi unity, warning that the state’s language, land, and identity are under threat. He described the BMC elections as “decisive” for the Marathi community and urged voters to unite and remain vigilant to prevent malpractice.
