The Shiv Sena-BJP's 17-year-old reign over Maximum City got another extension of five years from the people of Mumbai today. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine won the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC, India's richest civic body with an annual budget of 21,000 crore.
"This is a victory for the people of Mumbai. I've forgiven those who tried to destroy us," said Uddhav Thackeray, Executive President, Shiv Sena.
Fighting an incumbency wave, a new alliance of Congress-NCP, and the rising popularity of Raj Thackeray - the estranged nephew of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray - the saffron alliance defied all odds, and emerged with the maximum number of seats.
The Sena, however, suffered huge losses in its traditional strongholds of Dadar and Lalbaug. It was Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) that took the Shiv Sena's thunder away. The MNS not only ate into the Marathi vote bank of the Shiv Sena, it also fed on the Congress vote bank, reducing both their numbers. The MNS won 27 seats in Mumbai, compared to just seven in 2007.
"Every election teaches me something... We've lost narrowly in several wards," said Raj Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena, which grabbed 84 seats in 2007, managed to retain 75 seats this time. The BJP had a better performance from last time with numbers going to 32 against 28 in 2007.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/shiv-sena-bjp-retain-power-in-mumbai-civic-polls-177343
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