MNS will not ally with BJP in Mumbai mayor poll: Raj Thackeray

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS president Raj Thackeray has stated that the party will have no alliance with the BJP in the mayor election of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC a senior party leader said on Monday reported the PTIThe announcement came during a meeting with MNS functionaries to review the results of the civic polls held on January 15 mainly in Mumbai and its satellite citiesDuring the meeting MNS workers raised concerns about lack of cooperation from their ally Shiv Sena UBT in some civic wards They also expressed displeasure over being allotted ldquounwinnablerdquo wards in Mumbai as part of the alliance with the Shiv Sena UBT led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray according to the PTIMNS functionaries said the party was given difficult wards in Mumbai which has 227 seats making it hard for them to win more seatsAccording to the MNS leader Raj Thackeray asked party workers not to dwell on the past but to focus on strengthening the organisationldquoRaj saheb has said there will be no truck with the BJP in the mayoral poll of the BMCrdquo the leader added as per the PTIMNS performance in BMC pollsThe MNS contested 53 seats in the BMC elections but won only six seats in Indiarsquos largest and wealthiest civic bodyThe BJP won 89 seats becoming the single largest party in the BMC for the first time Its ally Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde secured 29 seats while the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT won 65 seatsThe BJPShiv Sena Shinde alliance has 118 seats crossing the majority mark of 114 which could allow them to elect their candidate as mayor easily The date for the mayoral election has not yet been announcedOther partiesrsquo performanceCongress with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi 24 seatsAIMIM 8 seatsNCP 3 seatsSamajwadi Party 2 seatsNCPSP 1 seatBJP appoints Ganesh Khankar as group leader in BMCDays after the conclusion of BMC elections of 2026 the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP on Monday appointed Ward 7 Dahisar corporator Ganesh Khankar as their party leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMCApart from BJP Shiv Sena has also appointed Amey Ghole as their leader in BMC Ghole during the recently concluded BMC elections was elected as a corporator from ward 178 MatungaBJP emerges as the single largest party in BMC elections 2026The appointment of Ganesh Khankar comes after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the recently concluded BMC elections 2026 winning 89 corporator seats The announcement was made at the BMC headquarters during a formal meeting where both the BJP and the Shiv Sena registered their elected representativesShiv Senarsquos Ghole offers administrative experienceAmey Ghole a twotime corporator from Shiv Sena brings significant administrative and political experience to the role During his previous tenure in the BMC when he was part of the undivided Shiv Sena he served as the chairman of the civic bodyrsquos Health Committee where he also played an important role in shaping public health initiativesAmey Ghole also holds the position of general secretary of the Yuva Sena the partyrsquos youth wing and is known for his strong connection with grassroots workers and young party cadres in Mumbai and Maharashtrawith PTI inputs