Shiv Sena youth wing defeats ABVP in polls

MUMBAI: The Aaditya Thackerayled Yuva Sena defeated the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the Mumbai University senate polls Thursday.

The youth wing of the Sena won all 10 seats in the elections, completely wiping out the BJP’S sister organisation. The win assumes significance given the current political scenario and the strained ties between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.

Thackeray, who celebrated the win with the Yuva Sena cadre at Sena Bhavan, said that the win is a “victory of faith in the Sena”.

Thackeray called the win an “important” one as it was a “fight against the ABVP”. Speaking to reporters at the Sena headquarters, Thackeray said, “While I’m being credited with the win, it is the victory of the entire team, which has been working towards it for the last eight years.”

He said he is confident the Shiv Sena will double its tally in the Maharashtra assembly in 2019.

In January, the Shiv Sena passed a resolution to contest the 2019 assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone. Thackeray has taken on the Bjp-led government on its policies and decisions.

Political analyst Prakash Bal said this victory would give a boost to Thackeray’s image, and added that the result is unlikely to change the political equations between the two saffron allies.