Shiv Sena Triumphs in Thane but Faces Setbacks in Mumbai

The ruling Shiv Sena secured seven out of 15 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Thane stronghold. However, it lost two vital seats in Mumbai to its rival faction, Shiv Sena (UBT). The upcoming assembly polls will be crucial in determining the 'real' Shiv Sena.

The ruling Shiv Sena secured seven out of the 15 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra on Tuesday, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's political stronghold of Thane. Nevertheless, the party suffered losses in two crucial constituencies in Mumbai to its rival faction, the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Shinde's next significant challenge is the forthcoming assembly elections later this year, which will determine the 'real' Shiv Sena following the party's split in 2022—whether it will be led by him or his rival Uddhav Thackeray.

Of the 15 contested seats, the Shiv Sena was directly competing against the Shiv Sena (UBT) in 13 and managed to win six of them, including Thane, Kalyan, Hatkangale, Buldhana, Aurangabad, and Maval. In Mumbai, the party lost in Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central, although it narrowly retained the Mumbai North West seat by a mere 48-vote margin.

The undivided Shiv Sena had contested 23 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 in alliance with the BJP, winning 18. However, following the split two years ago, the Shinde-led faction contested only 15 seats amid disagreements with alliance partners BJP and NCP.

The Shiv Sena struggled in Ramtek, Yavatmal, Washim, and Hingoli and delayed announcing the Nashik candidate, attributing the delay to conflicts with BJP and NCP. This resulted in a loss, with candidate Hemant Godse losing to Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Parag Waje.

Chief Minister Shinde blamed the opposition parties' relentless propaganda about changing the Constitution for the losses experienced by Mahayuti.

'We failed to clear the doubts among voters. Our losses were also due to vote-bank politics,' Shinde explained, citing delays in candidate announcements as another setback.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)