The results show the grand alliance bagging 108 seats — six seats short of reaching the magic number of 114 to gain a majority.
Though the Republican Party of India (Athawale) won only one seat in the 29 wards allotted to them, it helped the saffron alliance defeat Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party candidates.
The results on Friday show the grand alliance bagging 108 seats — six seats short of reaching the magic number of 114 to gain a majority.
The only candidate who won from the RPI(A) is Borra Sabreddy Mallesh.
The RPI (A) indirectly helped the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Samajwadi Party or Independent candidates to win by dividing the Dalit votes across the city. The Dalits did not support the Congress-NCP.
In 2007 BMC elections in these 29 wards, the Congress won 11 seats, NCP three, MNS one, SP four, RPI(A) three and Shiv Sena one with three Independents.
This year’s results in the same wards show that the Congress retained 11 seats, NCP none, MNS four, SP three, RPI(A) one, Akhil Bharatiya Sena two, Bharatiya Relpublican Party one and Independents won seven seats.
However, the RPI (A) in some cases, apart from helping SP to win, also defeated the SP. It played a crucial role in defeating the NCP in three seats, which was won by the MNS.
“Almost all the seats allotted to the RPI(A) by the Sena-BJP were in Dalit and Muslim dominated areas, where the chances of winning were slim,” said a political analyst, adding that the Shiv Sena-BJP might have been aware of that.
“So, offering those seats to the RPI (A) helped the Sena-BJP divide Dalit votes not only in 29 wards but in the entire city by using it as a trump card,” said the analyst.
He added that it seemed that the Congress-NCP underestimated the Sena-BJP-RPI(A) alliance and did not take any measure to counter them.
The RPI(A) leaders also admit that their candidates did not get any votes of Sena-BJP workers, which affected their seats badly. “In most wards, we did not get votes from Sena-BJP workers. They might have voted other parties,” said Avinash Mahatekar, national secretary of RPI (A), adding that they needed to address the issue strategically.
“The Sena-BJP workers might have opted to vote either for the MNS or Independent candidates and not the RPI (A),” said Uday Nirgudkar, a political analyst, adding that this could be a cause of worry for the parties.
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