BMC Election Blow: Raj Thackeray's MNS Faces Existential Crisis

• The MNS secured leads/wins in only 10 out of over 50 contested wards in the BMC elections, signaling a significant setback.
• Raj Thackeray's reunion with Uddhav Thackeray and his hardline Marathi identity politics failed to counter the Mahayuti alliance.
• The MNS's 'hatao lungi, bajao pungi' rhetoric did not resonate with voters in cosmopolitan centers like Mumbai and Pune.
• Raj Thackeray's ideological inconsistency, shifting stances on 'sons of the soil' issues, Hindutva, and Narendra Modi, has confused his voter base.
• The party faces a serious risk of derecognition as a state party due to declining vote share and poor election performance.

Why It Matters: Raj Thackeray's MNS faces an existential crisis after a dismal BMC election performance and ideological inconsistency.