The BMC, not just in the country but the entire Asia as the wealthiest and largest municipal corporation, is set to witness a BJP mayor for the first time. It's not just BMC; the grand alliance has hoisted the saffron flag in 25 out of Maharashtra's 29 municipal corporations, defeating the Thackeray brothers along with the entire opposition.
Now, the question is what will become of Bal Thackeray's legacy. What will happen to Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray's politics? Let's try to understand the implications of the BMC election results.
The remarkable point about the BMC election results is that after 25 years, the fortress of Shiv Sena has fallen.
The future raises questions about Bal Thackeray's legacy. It's about Shiv Sena's existence, which ruled BMC, and to save this existence, the Thackeray brothers shook hands after two decades, but Maharashtra's people outrightly rejected this politics. While Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav, bids farewell after 25 years in Mumbai, Raj Thackeray seems longing for double-digit figures.
The results clearly show that Mumbai's citizens have rejected the duo of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray. The hardcore Maratha politics was not understood by Maharashtra's people. The aftermath of violence against North Indians was also evident. Not only this, but the Thackeray brothers also failed to rally non-Maratha voters. Meanwhile, the Muslim voters completely distanced themselves from this alliance.
The Matoshree, which for the last 25 years celebrated the outcome of elections, was engulfed in silence on Friday. Now, many questions are arising following these results, such as:
Did Raj Thackeray cause harm to Uddhav? Did breaking away from Congress cost Uddhav dearly? Did the public trust Shinde more with the Thackeray legacy? Will the duo of Raj and Uddhav fight together in the future?
And what will happen to Uddhav's Shiv Sena now?
It should be noted that after a jolt in the Maharashtra assembly, Uddhav changed his strategy. He distanced himself from the Maha Vikas Aghadi, forgot the long-standing rivalry to shake hands with his brother. But now, Uddhav's political future is in question since the legacy of Bal Thackeray which he often mentions is not translating into results. However, there are other reasons for the results against Uddhav in BMC.
For example, Shiv Sena, which ruled BMC for 25 years, faced anti-incumbency. Instead of rallies, Uddhav and Raj focused more on press conferences, which perhaps failed to connect them with the public. Targeting only Marathi voters turned costly, alienating the rest.
Images of violence with Hindi speakers also emerged. There was politics about Hindi in Maharashtra's syllabus, and Raj Thackeray promised a Marathi mayor for Maharashtra. But none of these issues seemed to succeed entirely.
