Danger Not To Marathis, But Their Parties' Existence: E Shinde On Thackerays

Pulling no punches after his party won the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in an alliance with the BJP, Shiv Sena President Eknath Shinde has said Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have been telling people that the existence of the Marathi manoos is in danger when their own parties' existence is in question. 

Speaking to NDTV's Padmaja Joshi on Friday, Shinde also said the choice for Mumbai voters was between emotion and development, and they chose the latter. 

"The issue for us was development while they (Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and MNS) were focusing on emotional issues. People don't go by emotions. The people of Mumbai have decided development is what matters and what elections can be fought on. They have voted for change and facilities," Shinde said in Hindi. 

To a question on the Thackeray cousins saying before the elections that this was a fight for existence for the Marathi manoos, the Shiv Sena chief said, "They need to think about why so many Marathi people had to leave Mumbai. The existence of their parties is in danger, not the Marathi manoos. We are giving people everything, including houses and roads. Our job is to make the lives of the people who live in Mumbai better."

While Shinde's Shiv Sena has not done very well on its own, leading in 29 of 227 wards as of 6.30 pm, it is going to be in power in the BMC, because the BJP is ahead in 85. Their combined tally puts them at the majority mark of 114.

The combined Shiv Sena, before Shinde split the party in 2022, had been in power in the BMC for 25 years. The corporation, which is India's richest and one of Asia's richest civic bodies with a budget of over Rs 74,000 crore, is now likely to have a BJP mayor.