Sena-BJP Set To Retain Mumbai

n a stunning comeback after a series of electoral debacles and splits in the party, Shiv Sena on Friday surged ahead with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party to retain power in the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and was tipped to capture three other cities while Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party may bag four towns.
In Mumbai, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine secured 111 seats, 3 short of majority in 227-member civic body, official sources said.

Congress, stung by feud between Union Minister Vilas Muttemwar and Maharashtra Minister Satish Chaturvedi, has been voted out of power from Nagpur Municipal Corporation as BJP-Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest alliance in the civic body and was poised to capture power.

The BJP-Sena secured 40 seats in the Nashik Corporation but failed to muster a majority, resulting in a hung House.

The Congress-NCP combine is set to win the Akola Municipal Corporation polls, dislodging the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance from power.

In the 144-member Pune Municipal Corporation, no party could muster absolute majority and the state's ruling Congress put up a poor performance.

In Pimpri-Chinchwad, adjacent to Pune, NCP won 60 of the total of 105 seats on its own and was in a position to run the civic body without the support of Congress.

Overcoming revolt in its ranks, Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party with 48 seats but failed to get majority in its stronghold Thane Municipal Corporation.

In the 76-seat Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, Sena-BJP combine bagged 27 seats compared to 20 of the Congress-NCP combine, which was in power.

In Amravati, the Congress-NCP combine looked set to retain power. Congress secured 22 seats while the NCP bagged 16, BJP 15 and Sena 11. Four candidates from BSP were also elected along with 13 Independents.

Congress emerged as the single largest party in the Solapur Municipal Corporation with 40 seats but failed to secure majority in the 98-member body.

Hitting out at his detractors, Shiv Sena executive president Udhav Thackeray said his party had proved everybody wrong and emerged victorious in the civic polls and credited victory to party supremo Bal Thackeray and the voters of the state.

"This was an election fought for the very existence of Mumbai and voters have shown that they still want Mumbai to be part of Maharashtra," he said.

Congress blamed division in secular votes as the root cause for its poor show in Maharashtra civic polls, but did not rule out post-poll tie-up with like-minded forces, including Nationalist Congress Party, to capture power.

"The sole reason behind this result is division among secular votes," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters when asked to comment on the poor performance of the party.

The Nationalist Congress Party said it was open to post poll alliances and would try to work along with secular parties for development of the state.