Ritu Tawde of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Mahayuti and Sanjay Ghadi of Shiv Sena recently assumed office as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mumbai respectively. The saffron flag of the BJP-Mahayuti now flies over Mumbai with great pride.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were personally present at the ceremony. After 44 years, the post of Mayor of Mumbai has gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 1982, Dr. Prabhakar Pai was elected Mayor from the BJP. With the selection of Ritu Tawde, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have fulfilled the declaration that “Mumbai’s Mayor will be a Hindu and will be a Marathi person.” The very next day after the Mumbai Mayor-Deputy Mayor election, the election for the Mayor of Parbhani was held. In this election, UBT’s Salim Jaffer became Mayor with the support of Congress.

In the 1990s, the revered Balasaheb Thackeray had made a statement during Lok Sabha and Assembly election campaigns, “Khan Hawa Ki Baan Hawa” (“Do you want a Khan or do you want the arrow?”). These words of Balasaheb Thackeray proved impactful across Marathwada. Shiv Sena consistently won Lok Sabha seats in Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, and Hingoli. What should one call it when UBT makes a Khan the Mayor in that very Parbhani?

In the Mumbai Municipal Corporation election, Uddhav Thackeray had staked whatever political capital he had left. After a crushing defeat in the Assembly elections, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation was the only support left for UBT. Influential figures in the media and social sector who oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party left no stone unturned to ensure UBT’s victory in this election. A highly vicious campaign was run against the Bharatiya Janata Party through various channels. Yet the BJP-Mahayuti won the Mumbai Municipal Corporation election.

In many municipal corporations, UBT could not even open its account. In the Zilla Parishad elections, UBT could not win even 50 seats. Even after losing the Chief Minister’s post in 2022 and facing defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections, Uddhav Thackeray and his associates believed that Mumbai Municipal Corporation was still theirs. Driven by the determination to win Mumbai at any cost, UBT even joined hands with Raj Thackeray. Going further, they even promised hardline Muslim organizations that they would appoint a Muslim Mayor. The anti-India forces were overjoyed after a Muslim was elected as the mayor of New York.

The anti-national forces’ efforts to create further division between the Hindu and Muslim religions in India and create religious unrest gained momentum in the backdrop of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. Mumbai BJP President MLA Amit Satam had declared that if BJP-Mahayuti gained a majority, the Mayor would be a Hindu and Marathi person. He had also challenged Uddhav Thackeray to make a similar declaration. However, UBT and Sanjay Raut did not accept this challenge. Uddhav Thackeray did not show the courage to publicly declare that if UBT gained a majority, the Mayor would be a Hindu and not a Muslim. This reveals how far UBT was prepared to go for power in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, UBT and Congress secured more seats than BJP-Mahayuti only because of “vote jihad.” Due to this experiment of “vote jihad,” UBT had dreams of achieving success in the Mumbai municipal elections as well. Uddhav Thackeray had forgotten how his father, the revered Balasaheb Thackeray, had consistently attacked Congress for its politics of Muslim appeasement. With the help of Congress and Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray became Chief Minister for two and a half years, but in return he caused immense damage to himself. Of course, Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya, and their highly intellectual advisor Sanjay Raut may never realize the mistake they made.

In 2019, after contesting elections in alliance with the BJP and seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, UBT and Sanjay Raut betrayed not only the BJP but also the voters. After the results were declared, they severed contact with BJP leadership. Uddhav Thackeray attempted to justify his betrayal by falsely claiming that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had promised them the Chief Minister’s post for two and a half years.

Uddhav Thackeray is now paying a heavy price for this betrayal. Living under the illusion that the Marathi voter in Mumbai would never go anywhere else, Uddhav Thackeray was brought back to reality by the voters. Emotional appeals were made to Marathi voters, and fear was spread that if a BJP Mayor were elected, they would be driven out of Mumbai. Yet the voters of Mumbai did not hand power to Uddhav Thackeray. Mumbai’s voters are experiencing the benefits of roads, flyovers, metro, and other infrastructure developed in the city by the Mahayuti government. This is why Mumbaikars gave their mandate to BJP-Mahayuti. Except for Parbhani, UBT did not secure a single Mayor’s post. After turning against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Uddhav Thackeray received support from Congress as well as all urban Naxalite groups across the country. However, it did not benefit UBT, because the majority of voters moved away from them. In a few months, the Legislative Council elections will be held.

In 2020, Uddhav Thackeray was elected unopposed to the Legislative Council. Now UBT has only 20 MLAs left. With such limited strength, they will not be able to return to the Legislative Council. Of course, even if they do, it is not as if UBT will achieve anything remarkable there. After losing the Chief Minister’s post, Uddhav Thackeray rarely participated in the proceedings of the Legislative Council.

UBT, which arrogantly believed that the Mayor’s post of Mumbai was its monopoly, has received a sharp slap from the voters. Politics of betrayal does not last long, and its benefits are temporary. Uddhav Thackeray is currently experiencing this. It is futile to expect that he will learn anything from it. If UBT attempts to present a balance sheet of the politics it has practiced over the past six and a half years, nothing substantial will appear on the credit side except a large zero.

END OF ARTICLE