The Shiv Sena-UBT and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance faced a setback on Wednesday after losing all 21 seats in the election to the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. The two parties had contested the BEST election together amid buzz over a possible pan-Maharashtra alliance.
The counting for the BEST election was held on Monday, and the counting of votes was held on Tuesday and continued overnight. The rival panel of Shashank Rao, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, bagged the maximum 14 seats.
The UBT and MNS had formed a panel named 'Utkarsh' and fielded 21 candidates. Of these, 18 were fielded by UBT and two by the MNS, while one candidate was fielded by the Association of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which had also allied with them.
MNS alleges poll discrepancies
Earlier on Monday, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande alleged that money was being used to lure voters in the BEST credit society.
Meanwhile, UBT leaders said BEST election gave them a chance to send a political message to the people of the state that the two parties are together. It also provided them a platform test their joint clout, they said.
BJP takes a jibe at UBT, MNS
The BJP has taken a jibe at the UBT and said the "Thackeray brand" has turned to be zero. Rao said this is a victory of BEST employees, who have rejected the Sena (UBT)-led group because of their "anti-worker" policies.
He said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai BJP head Ashish Shelar have always supported the BEST workers. Meanwhile, BJP MLCs Prasad Lad had announced 'Sahakar Samruddhi' panel for the cooperative credit society polls.
"The Thackeray brand turned out to be zero in the BEST employees' cooperative credit society election. The boss of the brand could not even win a single seat. We have shown them their position," he posted on X.
(With inputs from PTI)
