MUMBAI: The BJP-led alliance has swept the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, with the Thackerays losing grip on the civic body after 25 years. An analysis of Maharashtra state election commission data shows that the scenario would have been different had Uddhav and Raj Thackeray contested the polls in alliance with INDIA bloc partners. A united fight could have helped them notch up the 114 magic figure in the 227-member BMC, according to some poll analysts.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has won 65 corporators, Congress 24, MNS 6, Samajwadi Party 2, and NCP(SP) 1 in BMC polls. If they decide to come together, they are still short of 16 seats for the majority mark. Interestingly, they lost 16 seats by contesting separately, according to the state poll panel data. In ward number one, Congress candidate Sheetal Mhatre lost by 2474 votes to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena candidate Rekha Yadav. The Sena (UBT) candidate bagged 4314 votes, more than the Congress’ losing margin.
While in BMC’s ward number seven, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Saurabh Ghosalkar lost by 797 votes against BJP candidate Ganesh Khankar, Congress candidate Ashish Fernandis bagged the 1672 votes. In ward number 20, MNS candidate Dinesh Salvi lost with a margin of 2751 votes against BJP candidate Deepak Tawade, while Congress candidate Astan Khan secured 3351 votes.
In ward no. 31, Congress candidate BhgagyaLaxmi Rajpurohit lost by 278 votes to BJP’s Manish Yadav, where Sena (UBT)’s Jyoti More bagged 1803 votes. In ward no. 42, Sena (UBT)’s Pranita Nikam by 1022 votes against Shinde Sena candidate Dhanshree Baradkar, where Congress alliance partner VBA candidate Manisha Surve bagged 1066 votes.
In ward number 52, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Supriya Gadve lost by 964 votes against the BJP’s Priti Satam, where the Congress candidate Swati Sangale got 1399 votes. In ward number 58, MNS candidate Virendra Jadhav lost by 2251 votes to BJP’s Sandeep Patel, where Congress candidate Suryakant Mishra bagged 5459 votes. In ward number 63, Sena (UBT) candidate Devendra Ambekar lost by 538 votes against BJP’s Rupesh Savarkar, where Congress candidate Priyanka Sanap bagged 4380 votes.
In ward 72, Shiv sena (UBT) candidate Manisha Panchal lost against BJP candidate Mamata Yadhav with a margin of 609 votes, while Congress candidate Gayatri Gupta received 1002 votes. In ward number 91, Sena (UBT) candidate Vasudev Madgut lost to the Shinde Sena candidate Sagun Naik by 1790, while Congress candidate Sheikh Rafikh bagged 4135 votes. In ward 148, Sena (UBT) candidate Vasant Shinde lost by 1091 votes against the Shinde Sena candidate Anjali Naik, while Congress candidate Rajendra Mahulkar secured 2267 votes.