BMC polls: Sanjay Raut slams Eknath Shinde for betraying ‘Marathi manoos’
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance ended the 30-year-old monopoly of the Thackeray family on the BMC in the high-stakes elections
A day after the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won in the just concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, on Saturday (January 17), slammed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for betrayal of ‘Marathi manoos’ that paved the way for the saffron party to win the Mumbai local polls and install its mayor.
Also read: Maharashtra polls: BJP wave across state; topples Thackerays' Mumbai bastion
The BJP has officially maintained that the next mayor of Mumbai will be from Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena combine). Raut also suggested that the Sena (UBT) ally, MNS, underperformed in the polls, saying the Raj Thackeray-led party was expected to win 10-12 more seats.
30-year monopoly ends
The BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) alliance ended the 30-year-old monopoly of the Thackeray family on the BMC in the high-stakes elections, securing 89 of 227 seats. The BJP, however, will need the support of ally Shiv Sena, which bagged 29 seats, to run the civic body.
The Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS bagged 65 and six seats, respectively.
Also read: 'Rasmalai' jibe backfires as Annamalai-backed candidates win BMC polls
Raut said the Thackeray cousins collectively won 71 seats in Mumbai on the strong backing of the ‘Marathi manoos’, which is a huge achievement.
Power shift
Apparently acknowledging the altered power dynamics in Mumbai's civic politics, Raut said the Sena (UBT)-MNS combine will not allow the BJP-Sena to do anything detrimental to Mumbai’s interests.
Results have indicated that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party has managed to retain its traditional Marathi strongholds in central Mumbai, even though it lost control of Mumbai.
Also read: Fadnavis’ big moment: Is it endgame for the Thackeray clan?
According to Raut, the Sena UBT-MNS lost 10 to 12 seats by a wafer-thin margin of 50 to 100 votes. "We resisted the mob rule, use of power, and power of money," Raut said, targeting the BJP-Sena alliance.
He said 90 per cent of the 60 corporators who switched sides and joined the Shinde-led Sena bit the dust.
‘Betrayed Marathi manoos’
In a stinging attack on Shinde, who engineered a split in undivided Shiv Sena in 2022, Raut said, "You have betrayed Marathi manoos and Mumbai. Otherwise, 100 generations of the BJP would not have been able to install its mayor. Marathi people will never forgive you." He also said the Congress's strategic move to contest solo in the BMC elections clicked.
"We held discussions, and it (the strategy) worked," he said.
Also read: BMC election: Did Marathi manoos gamble backfire for Thackerays?
The Congress, which fought in alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), bagged 24 seats.
Analysing the overall performance of the Opposition, Raut said they could have won 10 to 12 additional seats, which would have prevented the BJP from installing its mayor, reiterating the commitment to play the role of a strong Opposition.
Against the backdrop of the BJP's stellar showing in Mumbai and 24 other municipal corporations, Raut said Shinde's political decline will begin as the BJP does not need him.
Also read: Uddhav, Raj Thackeray reunite for BMC polls to protect Mumbai's Marathi identity
The Sena (UBT) MP further said that Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar won't remain in power longer as the BJP is bitter towards him after their face-off in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls.
"There will be ghar wapsi. There will be a merger or (NCP and NCP-SP) will work together," he said, a day after the BJP vanquished the alliance of NCP factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
(With agency inputs)