As early results pour in from the Thane municipal elections, the Mahayuti alliance seems to be racing ahead with 15 seats.
Thane Municipal Corporation has 131 seats, and the BJP contested as part of an alliance with the Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena. They will face Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, MNS, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) coalition. However, Ajit Pawar–led NCP, the Congress, and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) have contested the elections independently.
Thane is also the stronghold of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Interestingly, this is also the first time that the Shinde’s Shiv Sena will face the mandate, after the party split. The undivided Shiv Sena had held Thane Municipal Corporation for the last 30 years. Since the time of the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, Thane Municipal Corporation has been a stronghold of Shiv Sena. Only from 1987 to 1993 did the party lose to the Congress.
In the 2017 elections, Shiv Sena emerged as the dominant force, securing 67 seats, followed by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 35 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 23 seats, while the Congress managed three. The AIMIM claimed two seats, and one seat went to an Independent candidate.
