MUMBAI: The BJP and ally Shiv Sena were ahead in high-stakes Mumbai municipal corporation elections as per early trends, after counting of votes began on Friday morning.
While there was no official confirmation from the State Election Commission, TV channels said BJP was leading in 16 of the 227 wards in Mumbai, while Shiv Sena, led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, was ahead in 10 wards.
The counting of votes began at 10 am.
The Thackeray cousins, who reunited after two decades ahed of Thursday’s poll, were behind the ruling alliance in Mumbai, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT ahead in 10 and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) ahead in 6 seats.
In Thane, Shinde’s stronghold, his party was leading in nine of the 131 wards, ahead of ally BJP which was ahead in six wards, TV channels reported.
In Pune, the BJP appeared to dominate ally NCP. The saffron party was leading in 32 of the 165 wards, whereas the NCP, led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was leading in 14 seats.