Has Uddhav started relying on god now? Rane takes swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT), Raut over Mumbai mayor claims

Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Narayan Rane on Sunday took a potshot at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and party MP Sanjay Raut over their recent remarks about the Mumbai mayor post, saying the duo were indulging in wishful thinking despite lacking the required numbers.

After the Sena (UBT) received a drubbing at the hands of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, Thackeray, whose party had held sway in the cash-rich civic body for 25 years, said his party can have its mayor if "God is willing".

"It's my dream to install a Shiv Sena (UBT) mayor in Mumbai, and if God is willing, this dream will be realised," Thackeray said on Saturday.

The BJP won 89, and its ally Shinde-led Shiv Sena bagged 29 seats in the BMC elections, while Shiv Sena (UBT) managed 65, and its ally Maharashtra Navnirman Sena six seats.

Speaking to reporters in Sindhudurg, Rane said Thackeray has started relying on divine intervention, while Raut was making vague references to behind-the-scenes discussions.

"Has Uddhav Thackeray started relying on god now? He has never folded his hands in front of god before. Will the mayor descend from the sky? Just look at the numbers. How will such a huge gap be bridged?" the former Union minister said.

Thackeray on Saturday said that the BJP thinks it has finished off the Sena (UBT), but it was not the case, asserting that it was his dream to see his party's mayor in Mumbai. Raut, meanwhile, said several political players, including those aligned with Eknath Shinde, did not want a BJP mayor in Mumbai and that discussions were ongoing, though no formal claim had been made.

Rane said that Thackeray was in a state of despair and advised him to accept reality.

The BJP had come to power in 25 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, he claimed, and said that the Opposition should now "be sensible and sit at home".

Rane further alleged that Thackeray alone was responsible for the Shiv Sena UBT's plight, as the party has now been reduced to a nominal presence.

Thackeray himself was responsible for Eknath Shinde's political stand and the subsequent loss of power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, he said.

At the press conference, the Lok Sabha MP also announced the Mahayuti's seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Sindhudurg, involving the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

He asserted the Mahayuti alliance would achieve "100 per cent success" in the elections.