From sweeping victories and political consolidation to razor-thin margins and hung houses, outcomes in Thane, Bhiwandi, Kalyan–Dombivli and Mira-Bhayandar underline a region voting not as a single bloc but ward by ward

The elections were seen as a contest between the ruling Mahayuti alliance — comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — and Opposition parties such as the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)