Mumbai: 'Unbelievable, so far only this' - this is how Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray reacted to the results of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
The MNS, which was fighting its fourth Maharashtra elections since its inception, was wiped out as the party drew a blank. So much so, that Raj Thackeray's son Amit Thackeray, who was fightning the Assembly polls for the first time, had to bite the dust.
Amit Thackeray managed to poll only 33062 votes in a three-way fight, which was won by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate Mahesh Sawant. Sada Sarvankar, who was fielded by the Shiv Sena, also lost from the seat.
The MNS was expected to do well in the urban areas - Mumbai, Thane and Pune and Raj Thackeray also focussed on these three cities by addressing multiple rallies in Maharashtra in the run up to the Assembly polls. During the campaigning, Raj Thackeray attacked his cousin Uddhav Thackeray and appealed voters to give his party power. He repeatedly
However, the party did not win a single seat. Political analysts say that the Raj Thackeray is able to pull the crowd but is not able to convert them into votes.
"The MNS also lacks a strong second string of leaders and that could also be one of the reasons why the party fared badly," political analysts observed.
Senior MNS leader Bala Nangoankar stood second in the Shivadi Assembly seat in central Mumbai. He was defeated by Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Ajay Choudhari by a margin of just 7140 votes.
In Worli too, MNS candidate Sandeep Deshpande stood third and was able to bag only 19367 voters. The seat was won by Raj's nephew and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who was the sitting MLA.
MNS candidate from Thane Assembly seat Avinash Jadhav also lost the poll and he was defeated by sitting BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar. Avinash Jadhav stood third as he polled 42592 voters.
In the Belapur Assembly seat, MNS nominee Gajanan Kale stood fourth. In the Khadakwasla Assembly seat, Raj Thackeray fielded Mayuresh Wanjale, son of late MNS MLA Ramesh Wanjale, but even that did not work for the party. Mayuresh stood third after garnering 42897 votes. BJP's Bhimrao Tapkir won the seat.
MNS nominee from Kothrud seat Kishore Shinde managed to poll only 18105 votes and stood third. The seat was won by Maharashtra Minister Chandrakant Patil. Sainath Babar, the MNS candidate from Hadapsar Assembly seat in Pune district, also stood third after garnering just 32821 votes. The seat was won by NCP candidate Chetan Tupe.
Parties like Samajwadi Party, Jan Surajya Shakti, Rashtriya Yuva Swabhiman Party, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, also won seats in Maharashtra but the fortunes of MNS, which is seen as a city-centric party, did not change.
In their Assembly first polls, the MNS got 13 seats and the expectations increased from the party as Raj Thackery played the Marathi card. However, in the two subsequent Assembly elections in 2014 and 2019, the party faired poorly.
Raj Thackeray in one of his poll rallies that in some states it took 30 years for regional parties to come to power, may be with his party in Maharashtra too, this could happen, but for that there are 12 years more.
