BJP made a massive gain in BMC elections and fell only three seats short of Shiv Sena's total tally in the most coveted Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections till Thursday evening. BJP won 82 seats and Shiv Sena reached the finish line with 84 seats of the total 227 seats. Clearly, neither have crossed the halfway mark, but are hopeful of running the richest civic body- with or without the alliance.
Across Maharashtra, however, BJP made major gains in the nine other municipal bodies. The Shiv Sena, however, claimed their throne in Thane. "This is a historic victory for the BJP ... We are only three seats less than the Shiv Sena ... The credit goes to the development agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis," claimed BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar.
If reports are to be believed, the estranged allies, BJP and Shiv Sena, might cosy up back together should the need arise in the post-election scenario.
READ IN DETAIL: Hung verdict in BMC polls; BJP makes big strides, but Sena on top
UPDATES:
7:40 pm: Final tally of 227 wards in BMC polls- ANI
6:55 pm: BJP's Atul Shah won ward no. 220 of BMC after lottery in presence of Municipal Commissioner. - ANI (READ MORE)
6:35 pm: Shiv Sena has done better in these elections, even Muslim voters have turned towards Shiv Sena: Uddhav Thackeray. - ANI (READ MORE)
5:50 pm: Won't accept Pankaja Munde's resignation. In elections, it happens that we lose and win: CM Devendra Fadnavis. - TV reports
5:45 pm: This huge victory for BJP is on the agenda of transparency. BJP has won the trust of the people. There's a tie for No. 1 spot. I thank people of Maharashtra. We've won nearly 81 seats, earlier we had 31. It shows the wide support for our agenda of transparency: CM Devendra Fadnavis. - ANI and TV reports (READ MORE)
5:40 pm: Mumbai has proved that they are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From 31 seats last year, we have 82 seats today: Piyush Goyal of BJP. -ANI
5:35 pm: Felicitation after BJP's performance in local body polls, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis to address a press conference shortly. -ANI
5:30 pm: Prakash Javadekar's reaction to the Maharashtra verdict. (READ MORE)
5:20 pm: BJP's Atul Shah and Shiv Sena's Surendra Bagalkar in a tie after recounting in South Mumbai.
5:15 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wants BJP and Shiv Sena to come together, says Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
5:00 pm: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis felicitated by supporters for BJP's performance in local body polls. ANI
4:55 pm: State overall tally for all municipal corporations till 4 PM:
4:30 pm: Shiv Sena supporters celebrate outside Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai. ANI
4:25 pm: We are in touch with independents for support claims, says Shiv Sena MLC Anil Parab.
4:20 pm: Pune figures in 158 out of 162 seats so far:
4:15 pm: Solapur Leads and Results in 87 out of 151 seats so far:
4:10 pm: BJP Mumbai President and MLA from Bandra west assembly Ashish Shelar said, "We have a majority. Four corporators have joined us."
4:05 pm:
3:55 pm: Pankaja Munde resigns after taking responsibility for BJP losing 8 out of 10 seats in Parli. "I take responsibility for my defeat in local body polls in Beed, have sent my resignation." ANI
(READ HERE)
03:50 pm: I accept the decision of people of Mumbai. I will keep working for the party: Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on his resignation. - ANI (READ MORE)
3:40 pm: Results of 225 wards out of 227 in BMC polls, according to ANI:
3:35 pm: Mumbai results in 220 out of 227 wards so far:
3:20 pm: Nagpur Municipal Corporation results of 72 wards out of 151. BJP is leading with 54, followed by Congress (14) and BSP (4). - ANI
3:15 pm:
2:55 pm: Pune leads figures so far:
2:50 pm: BJP Maharashtra just eight short of majority in Pune
2:45 pm:
2:25 pm: Shiv Sena leading in 92 wards, BJP in 77 wards, Congress in 29 wards, NCP in 7 wards, MNS in 6 wards and others on 14 - ANI
2:15 pm: Sena maintains hold on Mumbai, BJP has edge in Nashik: Read more
2:00 pm: Shiv Sena party members begin celebrations as party takes big lead in the Maharashtra civic polls. - TV reports
1:50 pm: As the counting progresses, the winning seats have slowly started emerging. Below are the lead and win details for parties in Mumbai:
1:40 pm: MLC Pravin Darekar's brother Prakash Darekar loses in Mumbai
1:35 pm: BJP Maharashtra leads in all eight Municipal Corporations except Mumbai and Thane
1:30 pm: Akola lead figures in 38 out of 80 seats
Amravati lead figures in 36 out of 151 seats
1:25 pm: Congress will have to think on disciplining party leaders in Mumbai, says Sanjay Nirupam
1:20 pm: Congress reduced to a minor player in Mumbai, lowest tally in the last 25 years Mumbai.
1:15 pm: MRCC president Sanjay Nirupam offers his resignation. Blames other Congress leaders from the city for party's defeat.
1:10 pm: Big loss for Shiv Sena Standing committee Chairman Yashodhar Phanse loses.
1:05 pm: Congress candidate Rajendra Narwankar, retired BMC assistant Engineer, wins from ward no 216 - ANI
1:00 pm: Ulhasnagar leads in 40 out of 78 seats
Pune leads in 84 out of 162 seats
Nagpur results in 54 out of 151 seats
12:55 pm: Lead figures in 187 seats, in Mumbai, so far
12:50 pm: BJP leads in 20 out of 58 seats in Congress stronghold Latur zilla parishad
12:47 pm: Vinod Shelar, brother of BJP's Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar loses from ward number 51 - ANI
12:45 pm: BJP suffers another blow, former MLA Atul Shah and Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar's brother Vinod Shelar loses seat
12:40 pm: Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM wins 5 seats in Solapur Municipal Corporation
12:35 pm: Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Rahul Ramesh Shewale's wife Kamini loses from ward no 144
12:33 pm: Clean sweep for BJP in Mulund; wins all six seats in the ward
Nashik: MP Hemant Godse's son Ajinkya loses zilla parishad seat
12:30 pm: Big blow to Pankaja Munde on her home turf Parli. NCP wins all six seats of Beed
12:27 pm: Sanjay Nirupam responsible for Congress' defeat in Mumbai, says former Chief minister Narayan Rane. (DETAILS HERE)
12:25 pm: Mumbai leads in 178 seats so far:
12:20 pm: BJP's Parag Shah, the candidate who had declared wealth of over Rs 690 crore wins from Ghatkopar
12:15 pm: Shiv Sena rebel Nana Ambole's wife Tejaswini who contested on a BJP ticket, lost her seat.
12:10 pm: Pune mayor and NCP candidate Prashant Jagtap wins.
12:05 pm: Former Mumbai Mayor, Shiv Sena's Shraddha Jadhav and BJP's Neel Somaiya win their respective seats. BJP and Shiv Sena both cross their 2012 tally in BMC elections 2017 .
12:00 pm: The leads in Mumbai, in 163 seats so far:
11:53 am: Shiv Sena is headed for big win in Mumbai and Thane. BJP leads in Nagpur, Pune and Nashik
11:50 am: Early celebrations begin at Shiv Sena headquarters in Mumbai - TV reports
11:45 pm: BJP leading in 25 out of 42 Gujarati dominated seats in Mumbai even as Shiv Sena takes a lead in 70 seats - reports Abhijit Mulye (@AbhijitTNIE)
11:40 am: In Nagpur the leads in 27 out of 151 seats so far are
11:35 am:
11:30 am: As counting proceeds, the margin between Shiv Sena and BJP slowly increases. In Mumbai, the leads in 111 out of 227 seats so far are:
11:25 am: Counting of votes for 132 wards of Thane Municipal Corporation underway; Shiv Sena leading in 10 wards, NCP in 1 and MNS in 1. - ANI
11:20 am:
11:15 am: Close fight between Shiv Sena's Vishakha Raut and MNS's Swapna Deshpande on Sena's home turf Dadar.
So far, in the BMC polls, Shiv Sena is leading 40 seats and BJP in 27 seats - TV reports
11:10 am: It looks like Shiv Sena is holding its ground in Dadar and Worli.
11:05 am: In Nagpur, BJP is leading in 9 seats and Congress in one seat so far.
- BJP will cross 125 seats. We are confident that Mayor will be from BJP: Mohit Kamboj, BJP Leader - TV reports
11:00 am: In Mumbai, the lead in 67 out of total 227 seats are:
10:50 am: Counting underway; Shiv Sena is leading on 10 wards, BJP on 9 wards, Congress on 3 wards. - ANI
10: 30 am: Pune leads so far: BJP: 12 seats, NCP: 6 seats
10:25 am: Mumbai leads so far - Shiv Sena: 6 seats, BJP: 5 seats, INC: 2 seats
10:20 am: Shiv Sena's former mayor Shraddha Jadhav is leading in ward 202. Shiv Sena's Surendra Baghalkar too is leading.
10:15 am: Initial leads in Mumbai, Pune, Solapur Municipal Corporations go in favor of BJP
10:10 am: BJP's Ankushrao wins unopposed to Solapur ZP. The party clinched similar wins; BJP's Ravi Landge has won unopposed in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Rita Padole has won unopposed in Amaravati.
Get the details of the candidates their electoral wards of Mumbai HERE