Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 24 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that the Sena UBT faction cannot be destroyed, calling it more than a political outfit and describing it as an ideology and a symbol of the sons of the soil.

He made the remarks while addressing party workers during the centenary celebrations of his father, Balasaheb Thackeray, and asserted that the BJP's attempts to finish off the Shiv Sena would fail.

'Shiv Sena is not just a political party. And if the BJP thinks that Shiv Sena will finish it off, you cannot finish Shiv Sena; you cannot destroy Shiv Sena because Shiv Sena is not a party; Shiv Sena is an ideology. Shiv Sena is the ember of the sons of the soil. And Shiv Sena is the torch burning in the hearts of the oppressed; you cannot extinguish it. You absolutely cannot extinguish it,' he said.

It comes days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Mahayuti allies swept the Maharashtra civic elections, winning 25 of 29 municipal corporations, including the prestigious Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

This marks a significant shift in power, ending the Thackeray family's nearly three-decade dominance over the BMC. The Mahayuti alliance crossed the majority mark of 114 in the 227-member BMC, securing 118 seats. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats. Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) won 29 seats.

Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 65 seats and led the opposition. Congress won 24 seats. AIMIM made notable inroads with 8 seats in Mumbai and 114 statewide; MNS won 6 seats.

On the other side, the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats. The UBT-led Sena polled 7,17,736 votes, accounting for 13.13 per cent of the total votes cast. The MNS added 6 seats to the alliance tally, with 74,946 votes and a 1.37 per cent vote share.

The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats, polling 2,42,646 votes, which represents 4.44 per cent of the total vote share.

Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 8 seats with 68,072 votes. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured 3 seats, the Samajwadi Party won 2 seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won 1 seat. (ANI)