"Shah-Sena": Saamana editorial accuses Eknath Shinde of 'opportunism'

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 (ANI): Following the Mahayuti's decisive performance in the Maharashtra municipal body elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his party, accusing him of being opportunistic with the guiding principle being "no ideology, no stance".
In its editorial, Saamana referred to Shinde's Shiv Sena as "Shah Sena" and asserted that when politics is driven by "no ideology and no stance", elections themselves lose relevance. The Shiv Sena (UBT) further alleged that if power, money and even constitutional institutions like the Election Commission are reduced to puppets, electoral waves can be artificially manufactured.
"If power, money and even the Election Commission are reduced to puppets, then any random wave can be manufactured in elections. Such waves and political churn have no real meaning. In 26 municipal bodies, including Mumbai, a so-called BJP wave emerged, and riding on it, "Shah Sena"-like opportunistic forces reached the shore. When the guiding principle becomes 'no ideology, no stance', elections themselves lose relevance. BJP and Shah Sena have crossed the 100-seat mark. Although the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance put up a tough fight, the arbitrary conduct of the government and the Election Commission proved decisive against them," the editorial read.
The UBT Sena claimed irregularities in the counting process that continued late into Friday night, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began celebrations even before the complete result was out, calling this a "warning for Maharashtra and the Marathi people".
"The results of 29 municipal bodies, including Mumbai, were declared amid massive confusion and chaos. Irregularities in the counting process continued late into the night. The entire nation was focused on Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra. On the strength of rampant corruption, the ink scam, EVM manipulation, money distribution, and bogus and double voting. The celebrations started by the BJP even before the complete declaration of results are themselves part of the alleged electoral scam. This is a warning for Maharashtra and the Marathi people," the Saamana editorial read.
The editorial also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that neither was there a fair conduct of elections nor justice delivered during his "Amrit Kaal". It claimed that even 24 hours after polling, election authorities failed to release official voter turnout data, while exit polls favouring the BJP were aired on television channels when voters were still standing in queues.
"Hundreds of voters were unable to exercise their franchise, while the Election Commission remained inactive like a python lying still. In Modi's "Amrit Kaal", justice is neither delivered in courts nor are elections conducted fairly. By addicting voters to money and capturing the entire electoral process, a new definition has been imposed--not of democracy, but of domination. Even 24 hours after polling, the Commission and municipal authorities failed to provide voting percentage data, yet BJP-friendly exit polls were being broadcast on television channels while voters were still standing in queues," said the newspaper.
Highlighting alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), Saamana claimed that election officials were seen openly using a "BJP app" to locate voters' names and accused officials present at polling booths of assisting the ruling party.
"This new miracle of Model Code of Conduct violations was witnessed by the public. Election officials were openly using a 'BJP app' to search for voters' names. Officials sitting inside polling booths were openly helping the BJP. If the Election Commission does not take cognisance of these complaints, then instead of conducting elections, MLAs, MPs and corporators should simply be appointed and sent directly to the legislatures," the editorial read.
According to official figures released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BMC, the BJP won 89 seats, polling 11,79,273 votes, which accounts for 21.58 per cent of the total votes cast. Among all winning candidates, the BJP's vote share stands at 45.22 per cent, making it the single largest party in the civic body.
Its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 29 seats with 2,73,326 votes, translating into 5.00 per cent of the total vote share. Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest bloc in the BMC.
On the other side, the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats. The UBT-led Sena polled 7,17,736 votes, accounting for 13.13 per cent of the total votes cast. The MNS added 6 seats to the alliance tally, with 74,946 votes and a 1.37 per cent vote share. The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats, polling 2,42,646 votes, which represents 4.44 per cent of the total vote share.
Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 8 seats with 68,072 votes. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured 3 seats, the Samajwadi Party won 2 seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won 1 seat.
Overall, winning candidates from recognised political parties polled 26,07,612 votes, amounting to 47.72 per cent of the total votes cast. The total number of votes polled in the election stood at 54,64,412, while 11,677 voters opted for NOTA. The results reflect a fragmented but competitive civic mandate, with alliances playing a decisive role in shaping the final outcome of the BMC elections. (ANI)