Vote Split Haunts Thackeray Faction in BMC Elections; BJP Benefits

• The alliance between Congress and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led to a significant vote split in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
• This split directly impacted Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Thackeray faction in numerous wards across Mumbai.
• Despite an alliance between Shiv Sena (Thackeray), Congress, and NCP (Sharad Pawar), seat-sharing issues resulted in multiple MVA candidates contesting against each other.
• The vote division allowed BJP to secure many seats with narrow margins.
• Congress and Vanchit's 'Mumbai Vikas Aghadi' focused on Muslim and Dalit-majority wards, further complicating the electoral landscape for the Thackeray faction.

Why It Matters: Vote splitting due to Congress-VBA alliance significantly hurt Thackeray faction, benefiting BJP in BMC elections.