Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that while the BJP may have won more seats, “its victory is tainted by the misuse of power, whereas his party’s defeat has grace”. Thackeray, in his maiden press conference following the BMC results in which Shiv Sena (UBT) bagged 65 seats, launched a sharp attack on the BJP, saying that while it may have attempted to dismantle his party through official channels, it has failed to erase its presence among the people.
“I don’t feel we have been defeated. Our defeat has a certain ‘tej’ (brilliance/grace), while their victory is ‘dagallela’ (stained). I call them an ‘anaconda’ because the BJP’s mindset is to use and throw. They will eventually finish off the very people they have allied with today,” Thackeray said.
“The BJP may have finished the Shiv Sena on paper, but yesterday’s results prove they cannot destroy the Shiv Sena that exists on the ground,” Thackeray stated.
He further criticised the BJP’s tactics, suggesting that its reliance on external manoeuvres reveals an internal weakness.
“The BJP exists on paper, but not on the ground. If they truly had a grassroots presence, they wouldn’t have felt the need to break other parties, misuse government machinery, or change the rules to suit their agenda,” he added.
Thackeray began by acknowledging that he could not reach every constituency during the campaign trail.
“I could only visit Mumbai, Thane, and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. I apologise to the Shiv Sainiks and voters in places I couldn’t visit personally,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to the voters from “Chanda to Banda” (across Maharashtra) who supported the alliance of Shiv Sena, MNS and NCP. However, he hit out at the ruling parties’ tactics.
“The ruling parties fought these elections in a very strange and filthy manner. They treated every seat as a life-and-death struggle, going beyond ‘saam-daam-dand-bhed’ (persuasion, money, punishment and division). Despite the lures of money and threats of force, those who stood their ground and voted are the true protectors of democracy,” he said.
Raising questions over the poll outcomes, Thackeray pointed to a discrepancy between public sentiment and the final count.
“I haven’t found the answer to one mathematical puzzle,” Thackeray remarked.
“During the Assembly elections, Modi held rallies; this time Fadnavis held rallies, but the chairs were empty. Conversely, the rallies held by Raj and me saw massive crowds. It is a mystery how empty chairs translated into votes for them,” he added.
He further alleged that the victory was fuelled by “development funds” used for distributing pressure cookers, sarees and cash.
“Where does this money come from?” he questioned.
Against this backdrop, highlighting the victory of his party workers, Thackeray praised the resilience of the common Shiv Sainik. He noted that his candidates succeeded despite facing “a waterfall of wealth” from the opposition.
“Our simple party workers have shown how loyalty can fight and win against immense money power,” Thackeray said.
While expressing deep gratitude to the citizens of Mumbai, Thackeray admitted he had hoped for an even stronger mandate. He touched upon the party’s 25-year history of service in the city and the international recognition of the “Mumbai model” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We placed our record of service and improvements before the people. Given our work during the pandemic, we expected a greater blessing from Mumbaikars. However, while it may not have reached the scale we anticipated, the support we have received is still significant,” he noted.
He refused to call the result a defeat.
–IANS
sj/pgh
