Saffron surge in BMC, Mumbai concedes undivided Shiv Sena bastion to BJP

In the 227-member BMC, the BJP has won 89 seats, its ally the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena 29, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) 65.

It’s the end of an era for the old guard and the dawn of a new one for the BJP, which, along with its ally, the Shiv Sena, has added a new layer of governance to its political dominance. Its victory in the BMC election firmly establishes the BJP as Maharashtra’s most powerful political party.

Maharshtra CM Devendra Fadnavis celebrate BMC election results, at Nariman Point in Mumbai. (Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times)

When you parse the numbers, a more nuanced picture emerges in the 227-member BMC, where the BJP has won 89 seats, its ally the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena 29, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) 65. In the 2017 election, the BJP won 82 seats and the undivided Shiv Sena 84.

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With this triumph, the BJP now holds the keys to the city, a first for the party. It’s a historic win also because it has wrested power from the Sena, which held sway in the BMC for more than 25 years.

“A new era of service to Mumbaikars!! We accept with great humility the blessings you have given to the Mahayuti along with the BJP. You have given us a new opportunity to serve. It is your and BJP’s desire to develop Mumbai. Let’s start this new strong growth season...! We’re going to fight for it...! It won’t stop now!! This is the word of the “humble servant” of Mumbaikars… I will not give up the service of Mumbaikars!!” said Ashish Shelar in a post on social media platform, X. Shelar is a senior BJP minister and was in charge of the BMC elections.

The verdict is also a day of reckoning for Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. Beyond the numbers, the battle for the BMC was deeply emotional for Thackeray and the Marathi manoos (sons of the soil). In their campaign, the Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance reminded the Marathi manoos of how more than a hundred people had been martyred to retain Mumbai within Maharashtra, while preventing it from going to Gujarat.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray called the election the “last fight to finish for the Marathi manoos”. But his emotional appeal failed to move his own party’s strength beyond the 2017 tally of seven corporators.

“This verdict reflects the loss of the Marathi manoos in his (Uddhav’s) fight against the North Indian-Gujarati combine voters, against which they were up against. The North Indian combine now has the upper hand in the city, thanks to the indirect support offered by the Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). Had the Congress-VBA combine supported the Thackerays, the BJP would not have wrested the BMC. The Congress’s decision to contest alone contributed to the BJP victory,” said political analyst Pratap Asbe.

This bitter truth is painfully clear to the Sena (UBT), which blames the Congress for not contesting as its alliance partner. “The BJP has won only because they split our party. If you add the numbers of both the Shiv Senas, it adds up to the numbers of the undivided Shiv Sena. This means that, had the BJP not split our party, they would not have defeated us. The BJP’S dream to elect their own mayor would not have been possible without the split,” said Sunil Prabhu, senior Sena (UBT) leader.

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According to political analyst Abhay Deshpande, “The BJP has achieved its dream to win Mumbai although the Thackeray cousins did put up a tough fight. Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to dump the Congress to go with the MNS backfired badly. The Thackeray brand will continue to shine and can bounce back if they rework and adopt a more inclusive strategy beyond its core Maharashtrian vote base to reach out to other communities under probably the Uddhav Thackeray’s Mi Mumbaikar campaign. While Uddhav did manage to get beyond the 32% Marathi vote bank to even get the Muslim vote bank, the MNS failed to move beyond its core voters.”

For now, the BJP is savouring its win. Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam says, “Those who were trying to spread rumours, and create divisions on the basis of languages and regions have been given a reply by Mumbaikars through their votes.”

He added, “We are confident… that BMC is going to have a Mahayuti mayor. The ‘saffron’ flag of Hindutva will fly atop the BMC.”