Devendra Fadnavis
Devendra FadnavisIANS

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses a press conference in Mumbai following the release of the official results of the BMC and overall state civic polls.

The Shiv Sena has already won 84 of the 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections while the BJP gave it a close fight by winning 82 seats.

7:14 pm IST: "Not only Mumbai mayor, but next Chief Minister will also be from Shiv Sena," says Thackeray

7:09 pm IST: "Even the seats that we lost were often lost by extremely narrow margins. This could have been very comfortable for us had those results gone in our favour," says Thackeray

7:07 pm IST: "Nobody else in the country has the same party retained power at a municipal corporation for five times in a row. This is a historic win for us, and this is not the time for us to talk about the state government. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and I haven't spoken today," said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

6:44 pm IST: "Cannot call it a BJP victory. You must assess it keeping in mind the money and muscle they put into the elections," says the Shiv Sena chief on BJP's impressive performance in the elections

6:30 pm IST: "There have been many thousands of voters whose names have gone missing from the lists. This is a grave problem, and needs to be investigated. We need to check if a conspiracy is afoot," said Shiv Sena chief Thackeray.

6:29 pm IST: "Shiv Sena has done better in these elections, even Muslim voters have turned towards Shiv Sena," says Thackeray at Press meet

6:27 pm IST: "Wait for the next two-three days for events to unfold on who will blink first," says Thackeray

6:26 pm IST: "Why the rush? Let us celebrate this win first," says Thackeray when asked if he will break alliance with BJP-led state government. 

6:25 pm IST: "Shiv Sena is the number one party in this city. Hard work of the Shiv Sena and blessings of Mumbaikars helped the party surge ahead," says Uddhav Thackeray

6:20 pm IST: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses press conference in Mumbai with son Aditya thackeray by his side

6:04 pm IST: "Again a tie between Shah and Bagalkar in ward 220. Now decision will be taken (by BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta) through a lottery system," says Fadnavis

5:56 pm IST: "The party's core committee will decide if the Shiv Sena can be seen as an ally or not... A core committee will decide any possible post-poll alliances or tie-ups with different parties... I haven't spoken to Uddhav Thackeray," Devendra Fadnavis has said after his BJP party won 82 seats in Mumbai.

Fadnavis also spoke about demonetisation and said: "We have done well throughout Maharashtra. We fought this elections on the promise of anti-corruption, of which demonetisation is just one part. It's clear the people of the state have accepted our vision."

5:54 pm IST: "We are not kings, but the sewaks of Mumbai," says Fadnavis

5:53 pm IST: Fadnavis speaks on Pankaja Munde's resignation after losing in Beed: "In elections, it happens that we loose and win... I don't see any reason to accept Pankaja Munde's resignation. I have not received it yet."

5:52 pm IST: "We have jumped from 32 to 81 seats (in Mumbai). We were fighting on the plank of transparency. And people have accepted that. In eight other civic body polls in Maharashtra, we have been either victorious or reaching the number one spot... We have won almost everywhere in Maharashtra," he says at the press meet

5:51 pm IST: "We lost 20 seats by close margin," says Fadnavis.

5:50 pm IST: "The immense support we have received from the people of Maharashtra is the validation of their support. We are extremely thankful for PM Modi's support... This is a huge victory for us," says Fadnavis

5:47 pm IST: "Mumbai has come out and voted in favour of BJP. The agenda we used at the national and state level, we also used successfully here. And not just in Mumbai, we also won six other cities across the state," Fadnavis  said.

5:46 pm IST: "We've won nearly 81 seats, earlier we had 31. It shows the wide support for our agenda of transparency. Thanks for supporting our agenda... The BJP has created trust in India," Fadnavis at the press meet

5:45 pm IST: "Counting is still on but the BJP has excelled in zilla parishads," says Fadnavis

5:43 pm IST: "The way Narendra Modi has started the trend of transparency in India, I am thankful that people of Maharashtra have accepted that," says Fadnavis

5:42 pm IST: "I thank people of Maharashtra, it's an unprecedented victory. This huge victory for BJP is on the agenda of transparency," Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis tells reporters

5:40 pm IST: Fadnavis addresses press conference after BJP's impressive performance in the civic polls

5:36 pm IST: "BJP's victory dedicated to PM Narendra Modi and his clean image," says Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar

5:35 pm IST: Fadnavis and his team presented with a garland at BJP head office in Mumbai

However, BJP seems to have won the overall municipal corporation elections in the state by winning 470 seats. Even though the BJP did not win a majority in the BMC elections, it gave a tough fight to the Shiv Sena, which has mostly ruled the state municipal polls. Despite that, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which has always had a stronghold in most sections of Mumbai and Maharashtra, failed to cross the halfway mark of 114 seats. 

It now remains to be seen with whom the Shiv Sena will ally. The party had made it clear that it would not ally with the BJP. In that case, allying with the Congress Party is the only option available to them if they wish to cross the halfway mark and gain power in the BMC. Or will the Shiv Sena go back on its statement and resume its alliance with the BJP ?

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