The dust has settled on the fiercely contested BMC polls, and the verdict is unequivocal: BJP and the Shinde Shiv Sena have wrested control from the Thackeray-dominated era. In a result that reverberates across Maharashtra politics, the alliance’s overwhelming success has left Uddhav and Raj Thackeray grappling with their most humiliating defeat yet.

Polling across 227 wards saw record turnout, fueled by hyper-local issues like pothole-ridden roads, erratic water supply, and soaring property taxes. The BJP-Shiv Sena duo capitalized on these grievances, promising a ‘Mumbai First’ agenda with tech-driven solutions and zero-tolerance for corruption. Their campaign, bolstered by high-profile rallies and door-to-door outreach, resonated with middle-class voters disillusioned by years of status quo.

Shocking visuals from Matunga and Mahim showed UBT candidates conceding defeat to cheering Shinde supporters. MNS, banking on Raj’s fiery oratory, fizzled out, securing fewer than 5% of seats. This twin blow to the Thackeray siblings signals the erosion of their family’s iconic Marathi manoos appeal, once synonymous with BMC supremacy.

Experts dissect the win as a masterstroke of alliance arithmetic. By fielding unified candidates and avoiding intra-party clashes, the NDA partners maximized vote share. The BMC’s vast resources now empower them to fast-track mega-projects like the coastal road and Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, long pending due to bureaucratic hurdles.

While celebrations light up Girgaon and Bandra, the losers plot comebacks. Uddhav Thackeray labeled the outcome ‘manipulated,’ vowing judicial recourse. Raj, ever the maverick, blamed ‘external forces.’ Yet, with BMC under NDA control, Mumbai’s transformation agenda gains momentum. The city’s residents, weary of drama, eagerly await tangible change over familial feuds.