Battleground BMC: BJP-Shiv Sena alliance set to sweep Mumbai civic polls, say Exit Polls
Mumbai, Jan 15 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena alliance is headed for a thumping victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, facing little resistance from 'united' Thackeray brothers, said media reports citing multiple Exit Polls by the polling agencies.
At least two Exit polls have projected a clear and decisive mandate for the BJP-Sena alliance, with Thackeray brothers falling behind by a big margin while the Congress-led alliance is seen headed for another poor show.
According to Exit polls, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti alliance has emerged as the favourite choice for migrant population from North and South India while it is also expected to take a lion's share in Maratha votes. On the other hand, the Thackeray cousins, are seen barely consolidating the Marathi and Muslim votes, as even that vote bank doesn't seem to be reposing their faith in Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance.
Two pollsters, namely Axis My India and JVC have predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP and Shiv Sena in the hotly contested battle for BMC.
According to JVC, BJP-Sena alliance is expected to register victory in 138 wards while Shiv Sena-UBT is likely to win 59 wards. Congress-led alliance is trailing behind by a large margin and could be seen winning 23 wards.
Axis My India polls has predicted victory in 131-151 wards for the BJP-Sena combine while projects 58-68 seats for the Shiv Sena-UBT-led alliance.
According to another polling agency The Sakal Poll, the BMC face-off is seen as a close contest between BJP-Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena(UBT)-MNS.
The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition is seen getting edge over the Thackeray brothers but by a slender margin.
According to the polling agency, BJP-Shiv Sena alliance could register victory in 119 wards while the Shiv Sena-UBT could win 75. Congress tally is seen getting restricted below the 20-seat mark.
For the BMC elections, Thackeray cousins -- Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray -- came together after about 20 years of political separation.
Uddhav Thackeray, leading the Shiv Sena-UBT and Raj Thackeray leading the MNS respectively, set aside their long-standing rift in a bid to overcome audacious challenge from the BJP-Shiv Sena combine for the BMC polls.
Shiv Sena-UBT contested on about 160 wards, while the MNS fielded candidates in about 53 seats.
Notably, BMC is the country's richest civic body, which went to polls on Thursday, along with 28 municipal corporations across Maharashtra.
Voting was held for 227 civic wards of BMC from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and counting of votes will be held on Friday.