MUMBAI CLIFFHANGER: Shiv Sena Biggest Party, But Falls Well Short of Magic Figure, BJP Emerges Close Second

Shiv Sena leads in battle for Mumbai

The ruling Shiv Sena appeared emerged the single largest party in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's biggest and richest civic body. The BJP came a close second in a see-saw political battle where fortunes fluctuated in every round. Shiv Sena got 84 seats, while the BJP got 81. Both fall short of the magic number of 114. Congress was a distant second while Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra Navanirman Sena and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen fared poorly.

Mumbai Congress chief resigns

Stunned by the reversal, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam resigned from the post. He owned up the responsibility for the party debacle and said he would continue to work hard and try to improve the party's position in Mumbai.

BMC poll: Sena, BJP supporters clash

The supporters of Shiv Sena and BJP clashed after some Sena activists burst firecrackers outside the BJP office at Dadar in Central Mumbai as trends for the BMC polls started pouring-in. The incident led to chaos in the area for some time as both the sides raised slogans against each other. The Bhoiwada police personnel, who were on bandobast duty, intervened and asked the Sena workers to vacate the area in front of the BJP office.

Results not as per expectations: BJP

As counting trends showed the Shiv Sena surging slightly ahead in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the BJP said it will "introspect" reasons for the party's performance which was "not as per expectations". "We will introspect and find out reasons for our performance in Mumbai, which was not as per expectations," Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said.

BJP is the overall leader: Tawde

BJP leader Vinod Tawde said his party has emerged as the overall leader in elections to 10 municipal corporations and 25 zilla parishads held recently. "The BJP is the number one party in Maharashtra," Tawde, who is also the state's Education Minister, told reporters outside the party office here amid bursting of firecrackers by BJP workers, who were celebrating the party almost doubling its 2012 poll tally in BMC. "This result is a befitting reply to Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut, who had said the BJP did not have the 'aukat' (ability) to win even 40 seats in the BMC," Tawde said.

Shiv Sena thanks Mumbai

"The response of the people has been very good. There are several places where the Sena is leading. This is all due to the faith of people in the leadership of (late Sena supremo) Balasaheb (Thackeray) and Uddhav ji," Sena MP Anil Desai told reporters at the Sena Bhavan here. "People of Mumbai, with their wisdom, are ready to bring the Sena to power on its own. There will be no alliance needed (with the BJP)," he said.