Having bagged 107 corporation seats with allies, Shiv Sena couldn't defend its fortress, Dadar-Mahim, from arch-rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
Having bagged 107 corporation seats with allies, Shiv Sena couldn't defend its fortress, Dadar-Mahim, from arch-rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
The tiger may have staked out its dominance in Mumbai yet again, but his home turf has been whisked off from under his nose by his chief contender.
The Shiv Sena, having reserved the BMC reigns for another five years, has lost its bastion of Mahim division to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). 
No longer home Turf? MNS workers celebrate outside Sena Bhawan
after they managed to win all the seats in Sena's stronghold ufffd Dadar
The seven corporation seats in the division houses the former's headquarter Sena Bhawan, the politically significant Shivaji Park, as well as the residence of MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
Sena supremo Bal Thackeray started his political career from Dadar, Shivaji Park, where he held his first rally.
It is said that Sharad Pawar was in the audience. But the ward now has an MNS corporator.
"It's like letting a tiger have his entire prey but snatching away the meaty piece from his jaws. The Sena has managed to retain BMC, but lost Dadar in a battle," said a Sena worker.
While MNS has managed to gain what many would agree is considerable groundu00a0-- 28 seats this time from 7 in the last BMC elections -- the mood outside Raj's house was damp.
There were hardly 20 supporters waving flags at Krishna Kunj, his residence.u00a0
Outside Sena Bhawan, of course, supporters erupted in a victory celebration. The crowd was hard to manage even in the presence of the police. There was loud music, sloganeering, and dancing.
"We know that winning Mumbai came at the price of Dadar, but we have retained BMC. That's the victory we were expecting," said a Sena leader.
Nonetheless, does the party consider it a blow?
"We do not consider it as a blow or a defeat. In politics, such things happen. During the Assembly polls, we lost Lalbaug and Parel to MNS, but we retained them in the corporation elections. In the same manner, we will win back Dadar and Mahim in the next elections."
MNS: 7, Sena: 0
In all seven wards in Mahim division, MNS candidates drubbed Sena and other rivals to the BMC house.
>>u00a0Ward no 181: Shraddha Patil defeated Jaishree Tare of Sena
>>u00a0Ward no 182: Virendra Tandel defeated Prakash Ayre (also defeated former Sena MLA and now Congress member Sada Sarvankar's son Samadhan, Cong rebel Meena Desai)
>>u00a0ward no 183: Manish Chavan defeated former mayor Milind Vaidya of Senau00a0
>> Ward no 184: Sudhir Jadhav (ex-Sena corporator Snehal Jadhav's husband) defeated Yashwant Vichale (also defeated Congress MLA Kalidas Kolambkar's son Prathamesh)
>>u00a0Ward no 185: Sandeep Desphande defeated Praveen Shetye
>>u00a0Ward no 186: Seema Shivalkar defeated Rashmi Surve
>>u00a0Ward 187: Santosh Dhuri defeats Jyoti Bhosale
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