In first reaction after BMC poll defeat, Raj Thackeray targets ‘immense financial power’ and ‘authority’

ADaytime after the BJP-led Mahayuti stormed to force in the important Brihanmumbai Municipal corp (BMC) on with 24 other municipal corporations across the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray broke silence on the poll defeat and described the battle as one between “immense financial power and the power of authority versus Shivshakti”.Across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, the BJP won 1,425 seats out of a total of 2,869 seats. Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena bagged a total of 399 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 167 seats. While Raj Thackeray’s alliance member Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 155 seats, his MNS party won only 13 seats. Follow live updates here.Not only did the Thackerays’ reunion, who had joined hands after 20 years to contest the polls together, flop across the state, but control of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was also snatched away from Uddhav Thackeray, ending his family’s three-decade-old dominance.ALSO READ | Uddhav Thackeray suffers major setback: What BMC results mean for him, and the road ahead Raj Thackeray reacts to poll defeatIn a long post on X, the MNS chief congratulated the newly elected corporators and called the election a battle of “immense financial power and the power of authority against Shivshakti”.“It is saddening that MNS did not achieve the expected success this time, but that does not mean we are the kind to lose heart and give up. The corporators who have been elected will more than hold their own against the ruling powers right there on the ground. And if anything is seen to be happening against the Marathi people, they will surely bring those in power to their knees,” he posted.He said the election results would be analysed and that appropriate action would be taken after the defeat in the crucial civic polls. “Whatever went wrong, whatever was left undone, wherever we fell short, and what needs to be done, we will all together analyse it and take action,” he wrote. Reiterating the party’s main beliefs, Thackeray said the MNS continues to fight for the “Marathi people, the Marathi language, Marathi identity, and for a prosperous Maharashtra”.Thackeray also cautioned that ruling parties and their supporters “will not leave a single opportunity to harass and exploit the Marathi people”.“Elections will come and go, but we must never forget that our very breath is Marathi,” Thackeray wrote.ALSO READ | Kangana Ranaut's ‘women-haters’ jibe at Thackeray after BJP's BMC polls sweep: ‘Those who demolished my house…’BMC election results: What happened in Mumbai?The BJP won 89 seats in the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, while its ally Shiv Sena won 29. Shiv Sena (UBT) finished with 65 seats, while the MNS picked up six.The Congress, which fought along with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), won 24 seats. AIMIM took eight, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) three, the Samajwadi Party two, and the NCP (SP) managed only one seat.