Hitendra Thakur’s Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) outdid the major national parties in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation elections, with as many as 71 candidates from the party registering victories. The BJP was a close second, with 43 candidates from the party emerging victorious. The Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to win merely one seat.
Other major political parties, including the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (Shinde), failed to make a mark in the elections. In contrast, smaller parties like the AIMIM, AAP, Samajwadi Party, and BSP each appeared to have won one seat.
Virar, Maharashtra: In the Virar City Municipal Corporation elections, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) secured a clear majority, winning 71 of the 115 seats. BJP won 43 seats, while Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) managed only 1 seat, and all other parties failed to win any seats. Bahujan… pic.twitter.com/fQt0hVQluS
— IANS (@ians_india) January 16, 2026
However, despite the decent showing by the BVA, several senior leaders of the party suffered setbacks. These included Hardik Raut, Pankaj Thakur, and Kiran Thakur.
Hitendra Thakur, who is the founder and chief of the BVA, is one of the most influential politicians in Maharashtra's coastal belt.
Known for his strong grassroots connections and ability to focus on local issues, he has managed to turn the BVA into a force to be reckoned with in municipal politics, especially in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation.
While the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) tried to counter the BVA by highlighting development-related promises, the Maha Vikas Aghadi attempted to focus on issues related to urban governance. However, it appears that the appeal of Hitendra Thakur continued to hold, as the national parties failed to make a mark here.ke a mark here.
