BJP wins Mira-Bhayander, Sena 2nd, NCP wiped out
The results of the MiraBhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) poll, declared on Monday, shows that the BJP is fast shrinking the political space of the Shiv Sena in and around Mumbai and the rural areas of Thane district.
Out of the 95 seats that were up for grabs, the BJP 61, comprehensively trouncing the Shiv Sena and the Opposition Congress and NCP. The Sena, however, improved its tally from 15 in 2012 to 22 this time. The biggest loser was the NCP which drew a blank. It had won 26 seats in the 2012 polls.
The Congress's tally fell to 10 seats from 19 while Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which had one seat in the previous council, did not win a single seat.
Pumped up by Monday’s results, some BJP leaders said that the party will grab power in the BMC, a claim rubbished by the Shiv Sena that now rules the country’s richest civic body.
The ground reality after Monday’s results from MiraBhayander is that the BJP is steadily gaining space in the civic bodies, elbowing out its ally in the government in many Sena strongholds in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The Sena now shares power with the BJP in Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivali civic bodies. In fact, Sena has got a ruling majority only in the Thane civic body. Out of the 27 municipal corporations in the state, the BJP is the largest single party in 15, the Sena on its own is in power in just two — Mumbai and Thane. The Congress and the NCP have seen a steady been on a steady decline in the last three years. NCP was in power in nine municipal corporation, now its down to 2 — Dhule and Navi Mumbai.
After the loss in MiraBhayander, the Sena will be under pressure not only at the BMC, but also during the 1019 Assembly polls. At present, just two seats separate the Sena and the BJP in the BMC.