People understood 'selfish motives' of Thackeray brothers' alliance: BJP leader Chandrakant Patil on local body polls

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], January 16 (ANI): Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Chandrakant Patil on Friday raised doubts over the alliance of the two previously estranged cousins, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, for the recently concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Patil claimed that people understood the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance to be driven by "selfish motives" rather than public interest.
"Whether the Thackeray brothers come together or Congress and NCP join hands, it is not in the interest of the people. People have understood that this is for their own selfish motives," Patil told ANI.
Expressing confidence in the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) alliance, the minister said that the coalition will surpass the halfway mark of 114 seats, expecting a combined total of 130 seats in the BMC. "This number may increase but will not decrease."
Besides the BMC elections, polling was held across 28 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra. Counting of votes for these corporations is underway.
When asked about the Pune Municipal Corporation results, Patil expressed optimism that the BJP would maintain a comfortable lead.
"In Mumbai, the BJP will get 90 seats and the Shiv Sena 40; this number may increase but will not decrease. In Pune, we will not get less than 115 seats," he said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, had decided to ally with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), being led by Raj Thackeray. The alliance had run on the plank of 'saving' Marathi identity.
Early trends from the State Election Commission (SEC) have indicated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading in 38 seats in the city, which saw the Pawar family come together to contest the local body polls.
Early trends show NCP leading in 5 seats till now, while Congress has not opened a lead in any of the seats. The last elections of both PMC and PCMC were held in 2017, eight years ago. Murlidhar Mohol, currently the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation, served as the mayor of Pune till November 2019.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, early trends being reported from the counting of votes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena Mahayuti alliance leading in around 75 wards as of 11 am, based on preliminary data.
According to the data being reported, the BJP leads in 49 seats, and the Shiv Sena leads in 26. This means that the Fadnavis-led BJP is currently batting at a strike rate of 36%, having contested 135 wards. Shinde's Sena is batting at a strike rate of 29%, having contested 90 wards. (ANI)