"I want to thank him": Congress' Varsha Gaikwad to Uddhav Thackeray after her victory from Mumbai's North-Central seat

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 6 (ANI): Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad after securing victory from Maharashtra's Mumbai North Central on Thursday asserted that her victory was initiated after former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray called her as his sister.
Speaking with ANI, Varsha Gaikwad said, "The beginning of my victory was when he (Uddhav Thackeray) said that Varsha Gaikwad is like my younger sister and I am giving the vote to Congress for the first time. I want to thank him."
Notably, Gaikwad, backed by Shiv Sena (UBT), has become the sole Congress MP in not just Mumbai but the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region. She defeated BJP's Ujwal Nikam by a margin of 16,514 votes. Gaikwad garnered 4,45,545 votes while Nikam secured 4,29,031 votes.
She added further, "I feel very lucky to have contested from this place. MVA workers worked very hard. The people on the day of voting waited for four to five hours without water and ventilation and voted for us."
Meanwhile, Gaikwad also took to her official X handle and posted, "Flaming torch in hand accompanied by trumpet, democracy has won, preparations for people's power have started..!"
The post further added, "Mahavikas Aghadi won the confidence of the people of Maharashtra and won a resounding victory. Had a goodwill meeting with Uddhav Thackeray today at Matoshree (residence of Uddhav Thackeray), who played the lion's share in this victory, and congratulated him wholeheartedly..."
"His words of making his sister an MP and sending her to Delhi were very energising during my campaigning... I will be forever grateful to everyone," Gaikwad said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Aslam Shaikh also spoke about the victory of Varsha Gaikwad and said, "Varsha Gaikwad has been going and thanking everyone and therefore, she wanted to thank Uddhav Thackeray as well. He had said for the first time that I would give my vote for Congress since Varsha Gaikwad is like my younger sister. MVA workers worked very hard and therefore we won..."

The counting of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was held on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303.
The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition - JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP's chief Chandrababu Naidu.
BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted. For the first time since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own. (ANI)