Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results, alleging that if Shinde had not “betrayed” the party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would never have gained a foothold in the city civic body. He insisted that Marathi people would remember Shinde as “Jaichand”.
In a post on Twitter, Raut accused Shinde of betrayal, citing the historical reference of Rajput ruler Jaichand of the powerful Gahadwala dynasty, who is remembered in folklore for supporting Muhammad Ghori against Prithviraj Chauhan.
Raut wrote, “If Eknath Shinde had not become Shiv Sena’s Jaichand, BJP would never have got a mayor in Mumbai! Marathi people will remember Shinde as Jaichand.”
Elaborating, Raut accused the BJP of creating divisions within the opposition parties to consolidate power in the states.
He said, “BJP wins elections by creating ‘Jaichand’. Otherwise what is the strength of BJP? In every state, in every city, they break every party and create ‘Jaichand’ and win the elections.”
Questioning the political status of the Deputy Chief Minister, Raut said, “His status is equal to zero. What is the power of the Deputy Chief Minister? As long as he is in power, people will salute him; otherwise people will throw shoes on his vehicles.”
Commenting on the BMC results, Raut said that the Chief Minister has unlimited powers, including access to police, money and administrative resources, and claimed that any Chief Minister with such powers would have delivered similar results.
He said, as the Chief Minister, he has unlimited power; They have police, many other people and resources, money, everything. Even if there was someone else Chief Minister, the results would have been the same. The biggest fight was in Mumbai. We should not assume that BJP won in Mumbai. The competition is equal.”
“MNS got less seats; according to me they should have got around 15 seats. We lost 10 to 15 seats by a very small margin. But the strength of the opposition in BMC is equal to that of the ruling party,” he said.
Underscoring the strength of the opposition within the municipal corporation, Raut asserted that Shiv Sena (UBT) and its allies will keep a tight rein on the ruling coalition. Raut further said, “We have 105 people inside BMC. They cannot sell Mumbai. We are standing there. Even if we have to lose our lives, we will end the rule of these contractors.”
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) alliance emerged as the largest alliance in the BMC elections, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance also secured a significant share of seats and votes across Mumbai.
According to official data released by the Election Commission and BMC, BJP won 89 seats. Its ally Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) got 29 seats. The BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest alliance in the BMC.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting the elections in alliance with MNS, won 65 seats.
Indian National Congress got 24 seats. Among other parties, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won eight seats, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) three seats, Samajwadi Party two seats and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) one seat.