BJP “mortgaged Mumbai” won civic polls through “betrayal” alleges Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai: Accusing the BJP of having “mortgaged Mumbai” to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls through “betrayal”, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday sought to turn the party’s loss of India’s richest civic body into a rallying cry for his cadre, even as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde moved swiftly to secure his numbers by shifting newly elected Shiv Sena corporators to a Bandra hotel amid fears of poaching, with the ruling alliance clinging to a slim majority ahead of the mayoral election, reported Hindustan Times.
Addressing Sena (UBT) workers in Mumbai, Thackeray sought to recast the BMC outcome not as a defeat but as a morale-boosting performance achieved under adverse conditions.
Praising party workers for standing by the organisation despite limited resources, he said, “You all are the true architects of this success; we are merely a medium. The result that has come in such circumstances is truly a matter of pride,” repeatedly crediting cadres for keeping the party rooted on the ground.
Launching a scathing attack on the BJP and the ruling alliance, Thackeray accused them of misusing power and securing victory through “betrayal”.
“They believe they have finished Shiv Sena on paper, but they can never destroy the Shiv Sena that exists on the ground. They can never remain connected to the ground,” he said, alleging that every tactic, “saam, daam, dand, bhed” had been deployed against his party.
“The traitors left, but they could not buy loyalty,” he added.
Thackeray also alleged that the BJP had “mortgaged Mumbai” to win the civic polls.
“Those who have won through betrayal have done so by mortgaging Mumbai. The Marathi people will never forgive this sin,” he told workers, reiterating that the Sena (UBT) remained the true representative of the Marathi manoos.
He also stressed on his resolve to reclaim the city’s top civic post, saying it was his dream to install a Shiv Sena (UBT) mayor in Mumbai and that, if God is willing, the dream would be realised.
Meanwhile, the tight numbers in the BMC have pushed the ruling alliance to act quickly. In the 227-member civic body, 114 seats are needed for a majority. The BJP has won 89 seats, while the Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena has secured 29, taking the alliance’s total to 118, only four more than the majority mark.
With the mayoral election coming up and the margin being very slim, Shinde shifted his newly elected corporators to a hotel in Bandra to avoid any risk of poaching or last-minute defections.
Party leaders said the move was purely a precaution, given how tight the numbers are and the importance of retaining control of the country’s richest civic body.
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Abhishek Sharma fined 25 per cent of match fee for showing dissent at umpire's decision
Kolkata (PTI): Sunrisers Hyderabad vice-captain Abhishek Sharma has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team's IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders here.
He admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.3 and accepted the match referee's sanction.
For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the match referee's decision is final and binding.
He scored 48 runs off 21 deliveries to get SRH to a flier in the powerplay.
SRH registered their first win of IPL 2026, with a thumping 65-run win, with Abhishek playing his part with the bat, hitting four fours and as many sixes.
But he was sanctioned for showing dissent on TV umpire Nitin Menon's decision after Varun Chakaravarthy took a diving catch off Blessing Muzarabani the ninth over but there seemed to be no conclusive evidence that the catch was taken cleanly.
But Menon deemed the catch to be legal which the batter disagreed and expressed his disappointment while walking off.
