Maharashtra went to assembly polls for the first time after the Shiv Sena suffered a vertical split in 2022, making it a prestige battle for Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Since their split, both the factions have been vying to prove which the real Shiv Sena is even though the Election Commission in 2023 granted the Shinde faction the 'Bow and Arrow' symbol and party name 'Shiv Sena'. The rival group led by Thackeray was allotted the name Shiv Sena (UBT). Uddhav has moved the Supreme Court against the EC decision and the case is still going on.
However, if the recent Lok Sabha elections results and the early trends in the assembly elections are anything to go by, the Shinde faction has gained a clear upper hand over the Thackeray-led group and got a major shot in the arm in its battle to claim the legacy of Bal Thackeray.
Shinde’s Sena contested in 81 seats in the assembly elections and as per the trends at 10 am the party was leading in 56 seats. The Sena (UBT), meanwhile, was ahead in just around 20 seats.
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In the parliament elections, Shinde Sena won seven out of 15 seats it contested. The Sena (UBT) won nine out of 21 seats where it fielded candidates in, but the chief minister’s faction was ahead in strike rate.
Sena (UBT) is a part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and the bloc’s impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls had come as a morale booster for the Thackeray’s party. The assembly polls results, however, seemed to have dashed its hopes for a comeback, with the ruling Mahayuti is all set for a landslide victory in the state, leading in over 200 seats.
Among the Mahayuti constituents, the BJP is leading in over 120 seats and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in 34 seats. In the opposition bloc, the Congress was leading in 22 seats, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) in 17 seats.
