By | Arvind Jadhav | Political News
Mumbai: In the recently concluded BEST Patpedhi election, voting was held for 21 seats, but the Utkarsh Panel—jointly floated by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)—failed to secure even a single victory. The outcome is being seen as a major setback for the Thackeray cousins, who had hoped this poll would demonstrate their collective strength.
For years, the Thackeray faction’s workers’ union had held sway in the BEST credit society, making this election a crucial opportunity to reaffirm their influence. However, despite the buzz surrounding their alliance, the panel was completely wiped out. Prasad Lad’s Majdoor Panel won seven seats, while Shashank Rao’s panel emerged dominant with 14. Following the results, BJP leader Prasad Lad expressed his delight on social media, taking a direct swipe at the Thackeray brothers with the remark: “Brand Boss could not win even a single seat.”
While the winners celebrated, the silence from the Thackeray camp was notable. Prior to the elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had confidently stated that the Thackeray brothers’ alliance would extend into upcoming municipal polls and play a decisive role in Maharashtra’s local bodies. The humiliating loss has now cast doubt on that strategy and raised uncomfortable questions about the alliance’s electoral viability.
The significance of the defeat goes beyond the result of a cooperative election. The BEST Workers’ Cooperative Credit Society, commonly known as the BEST Patpedhi, is one of Asia’s largest credit societies, serving more than 40,000 employees of Mumbai’s public transport undertaking. Control over this body carries considerable political weight, as unions linked with it can influence thousands of workers and shape broader electoral outcomes in the city. For decades, the Thackeray-led union was dominant in this space, and losing all 21 seats is being interpreted as a symbolic rejection of their leadership among Mumbai’s working-class base.
As local body elections, particularly the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, approach, the Patpedhi result has heightened scrutiny on the Thackeray brothers’ political partnership. Their inability to convert their alliance into electoral success has sparked debate over whether the once-formidable Thackeray name still carries the same influence in Maharashtra politics.
