Maharashtra civic polls: Thackeray cousins retain Marathi heartland but lose Mumbai; Dadar, Worlistay with Sena (UBT)-MNS

MUMBAI: Though they lost control of Mumbai, Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj managed to retain their base in the Marathi heartland of South and Central Mumbai. They could, however, have limited impact outside the Marathi-dominated areas.The Mahayuti managed to win only a handful of seats in areas like Dadar-Mahim, Worli, Sewri, Lalbaug-Parel and parts of Wadala, with the Sena (UBT)-MNS combine keeping most. Many of these seats saw fierce and prestige battles. Out of around 20 seats in these areas, the Mahayuti could win only 2-3 while the Thackerays won the rest.

The Sena (UBT) had fielded three former mayors Kishori Pednekar, Vishakha Raut and Milind Vaidya from this area, reflecting Sena (UBT)’s seriousness about winning from here.

All three won.In Dadar-Mahim and Worli, Shiv Sena’s Samadhan Sarvankar and Priya Sarvankar, son and daughter of ex-Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar, lost to Sena (UBT) candidates Nishikant Shinde and Vishakha Raut. The only seats the Mahayuti managed to win there were of Shinde Sena’s Vanita Sarvankar (Worli) and BJP’s Sheetal Gambhir (Mahim).

In most seats in Marathi strongholds, there was a faceoff between Shinde Sena and the Thackeray cousins.

“The real battle for the Marathi manoos’ loyalty was being fought in Central Mumbai. This is the Marathi heartland. The last bastion of the Sena (UBT) where it has not been defeated in the LS and assembly polls so far. The Sena (UBT) won the Lok Sabha South Mumbai seat and all assembly seats like Worli, Sewri and Dadar-Mahim. So the BMC elections were a litmus test for the Sena (UBT)-MNS combine. With the Thackeray cousins coming together, the Sena (UBT)-MNS combine retained their bastion and Mahayuti only managed to create a small dent,” a political observer said.This performance of the UBT Sena-MNS came after several of the former corporators of both parties had jumped to the Shinde-led Sena or the BJP. MNS’s former corporator from Worli, Santosh Dhuri, was the last to leave and join the BJP, just days ahead of the BMC polls. Similarly, former Sena (UBT) MLA Dagdu Sakpal joined the Shinde Sena last week. The Sena (UBT) was also battling rebels in four out of six wards in Worli, which was a challenge for the UBT-MNS combine.

The rebellion had happened because many tickets had been given to family members of Sena (UBT) netas.An analyst said, “The Sena took shape in this very locality in 1966, so it has always remained a bastion. But the BJP and Shinde Sena have made inroads here. The fact that Mahayuti was able to open its account with one or two wins could be seen as a dent inj the Thackeray stronghold. There Thackerays were relying on a 100% strike rate in Central Mumbai. However, it is true that Shinde has fared worse than expected, and this has hit Mahayuti’s prospects.

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