Hitendra Thakur’s Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) outdid the major national parties in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation elections, with as many as 71 candidates from the party registering victories. The BJP was a close second, with 43 candidates from the party emerging victorious. The Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to win merely one seat. Other major political parties, including the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (Shinde), failed to make a mark in the elections. In contrast, smaller parties like the AIMIM, AAP, Samajwadi Party, and BSP each appeared to have won one seat.
After the landslide victory, BVA chief Hitendra Thakur credited party workers for the win and alleged irregularities in the electoral process. “The tiger is still alive, and it is because of the strength of our workers. Long live the workers,” Thakur said. “They took this election into their own hands and worked day and night. We were actually on course to cross the 100-seat mark, but EVM tampering, manipulation of voter lists, and the shifting of votes from one place to another prevented that.”
Questioning the voting process, Thakur raised concerns over voter identification norms. “DigiLocker is an accepted form of ID—we use it at airports—so why is it not allowed for voting? How can this be justified?” he asked. Reiterating his faith in the party cadre, Thakur concluded by saying that the BVA’s victory was a reflection of grassroots strength and worker dedication, asserting that the party’s “tiger” remains alive because of its committed workers. Despite the BVA’s strong overall performance, the party faced setbacks in a few key contests, with senior leaders including Hardik Raut, Pankaj Thakur, and Kiran Thakur failing to secure victories.
Hitendra Thakur, the founder and chief of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, continues to be regarded as one of the most influential political figures in Maharashtra’s coastal region. Renowned for his deep grassroots connect and emphasis on local issues, Thakur has successfully built the BVA into a formidable force in municipal politics, particularly within the Vasai–Virar Municipal Corporation.During the campaign, the Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) sought to challenge the BVA by foregrounding development-focused promises, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi attempted to centre its narrative around issues of urban governance.