Shiv Sena (UBT) leader <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bmc-election-2026-results-sanjay-raut-says-counting-still-underway-trends-favouring-bjp-shiv-sena-will-reverse-23612334" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Sanjay Raut</a> on Friday said Mumbai would not have seen a BJP mayor had Maharashtra Deputy Chief Eknath Shinde not betrayed the party.
In a post on X, Sanjay Raut drew parallel to Jaichand, a historical character reviled for betrayal.
"Had Eknath Shinde not been a Jaichand to Shiv Sena, Mumbai would not have seen a BJP mayor. Marathi people will always remember Shinde as Jaichand," Raut said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
अगर एकनाथ शिंदे शिवसेना का जयचंद नही बनते तो मुंबई में बीजेपी का मेयर कभी नही बनता! मराठी जनता शिंदे को जयचंद के तौर पर याद रखेगी ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/Dev_Fadnavis?ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">@Dev_Fadnavis</a>⁩ ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/mieknathshinde?ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">@mieknathshinde</a>⁩ <a href="https://t.co/CHC1GnIqym">pic.twitter.com/CHC1GnIqym</a>
&mdash; Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) <a href="https://twitter.com/rautsanjay61/status/2012193670980948438?ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">January 16, 2026</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script>

Shinde, along with 39 MPs revolted against party leadership <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/explained-why-uddhav-and-raj-thackeray-couldnt-win-the-bmc-elections-2026-23612401" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Uddhav Thackeray</a> and dislodged his government in 2022. Since then the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader has routinely labelled Shinde as a traitor.
The BJP wins 89 seats in the BMC elections, results of which were announced on Friday. Ally Shiv Sena got 29. The two parties crossed halfway mark in 227-member civic body.
The undivided Shiv Sena controlled the BMC from 1997 to 2022.
<h2>Saffron surge in civic polls as BJP clinches 1,425 seats across 29 municipal corporations</h2>
Meanwhile, the BJP has swept the 2026 civic polls, winning 1,425 of 2,869 seats across 29 municipal corporations, and wresting control of the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bmc-elections-2026-results-winners-announced-shiv-sena-bjp-congress-shiv-sena-ubt-secure-key-wins-in-mumbai-civic-polls-23612290" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation</a> (BMC) from Uddhav Thackeray, ending his family's three-decade-old dominance in the cash-rich civic body.
The BJP won 89, and ally Shiv Sena bagged 29 seats in the 227-member BMC, while Shiv Sena (UBT) managed 65 and MNS six seats. The Congress, which fought in alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), bagged 24 seats, AIMIM 8, NCP 3, Samajwadi Party 2, and NCP (SP) got just one seat.
The saffron party stunned the Pawars in the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/maharashtra-civic-elections-2026-pawar-setback-in-state-as-bjp-sweeps-pmc-and-pcmc-23612367" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Pune polls</a>, clinching 119 seats, with Ajit Pawar-led NCP coming in distant second with 27 and its ally NCP (SP) getting three seats, while the Congress managed 15 seats.
In the 151-member Nagpur civic body, the BJP held sway, getting 102, while the Congress bagged a mere 34.
Nashik saw the BJP bagging 72 seats, Shiv Sena 26, Shiv Sena (UBT) 15, Congress 3 and NCP 4.
The BJP's victory streak continued in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where it won 57 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 13, Congress with one, while other parties registered with the SEC, especially the AIMIM, bagged 33 seats.
According to the final tally, the BJP won 1,425 out of a total 2,869 seats, Shiv Sena 399, Congress 324, NCP 167, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bmc-election-2026-results-maharashtra-sec-declares-results-for-mumbais-221-out-227-seats-bjp-wins-87-shiv-sena-ubt-victorious-in-64-wards-23612350" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Shiv Sena (UBT)</a> 155, NCP (SP) 36, MNS 13, BSP 6, parties registered with the SEC 129, unrecognised parties 196, and 19 independents.
The elections were held in the following municipal corporations: Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.&nbsp;

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said Mumbai would not have seen a BJP mayor had Maharashtra Deputy Chief Eknath Shinde not betrayed the party

BMC elections 2026: Sanjay Raut calls Shinde ‘Jaichand’ after BJP mayor win

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The BJP wins 89 seats in the BMC elections, results of which were announced on Friday. Ally Shiv Sena got 29. The two parties crossed halfway mark in 227-member civic body

BMC elections 2026: Mumbai would not have seen BJP mayor had 'Jaichand' Shinde not betrayed party, says Sanjay Raut

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