Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena has decisively defeated Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, securing 36 seats in head-to-head contests, according to the results by the Election Commission of India that was released on Saturday.
Shinde’s Shiv Sena, part of the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, won 57 out of the 81 seats it contested. In contrast, Uddhav’s faction, a member of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), managed to win only 20 seats from the 95 it contested. However, Uddhav’s party did claim victories in 14 seats, defeating Shinde’s candidates.
The elections follow Shinde’s dramatic rebellion in June 2022, when he split from Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, allied with the BJP, and took control of the Shiv Sena, leading to the collapse of the MVA government. This move resulted in a prolonged legal and political battle over the control of the party name and symbol, with Shinde ultimately securing the Shiv Sena name and the ‘bow-and-arrow’ symbol from the Election Commission.
Notable victories for Shinde’s faction included Abdul Sattar’s defeat of Suresh Bankar in Sillod and Pradeep Jaiswal’s win against Balasaheb Thorat in Aurangabad Central. Shinde himself won by a massive margin of 1.2 lakh votes in his Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat.
Uddhav’s faction found success in some key contests, including Aaditya Thackeray’s victory in Worli, where he defeated former Congress leader Milind Deora, who recently joined Shinde’s group. Sunil Raut also won in Vikhroli, defeating Suvarna Karanje from Shinde’s Sena.
Despite the split, Shinde’s faction saw significant victories, while the opposition MVA struggled. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured 230 of the 288 seats, while the Congress-led MVA was left with just 46 seats. The BJP won 132 seats, while the NCP secured 41 seats.