Questions have been raised about the existence of this party in the Maharashtra elections, hope that the public will crush Kiran too

Amit Thakare: 2024 was politically significant for Maharashtra, with numerous political activities, intense competition, and fierce clashes between parties. The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections this year changed the lives of many leaders. For some, their political stature increased, while for others, a defeat was so severe that it put the party’s existence and its symbol at risk.

Yes, the party’s name, its election symbol, and its very existence have now come under question, leading to the possibility of action being taken. The party we are talking about is one of the top parties in Maharashtra, but none of its candidates managed to make an impact this time. Even the son of the party leader was rejected by the public. This became the biggest issue in the electoral corridors this year.

We are talking about Amit Thackeray, the son of Raj Thackeray, the leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Despite his father’s prominent name in Maharashtra, Amit Thackeray was rejected by the voters.

Amit Thackeray Contests Elections for the First Time
Amit Thackeray, the son of Raj Thackeray, contested his first election this year. He contested from the Mahim constituency. All eyes were on this seat and especially on Amit Thackeray.

However, the people of Mahim did not place their trust in the new candidate, Amit Thackeray, resulting in a crushing defeat. Instead, the voters chose Mahesh Baliram Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT) for the Mahim seat.

In the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Mahesh Baliram Sawant secured a total of 50,213 votes, finishing first. Shiv Sena’s Sada Sarvankar came second with 48,897 votes, while MNS’s Amit Thackeray could only manage 33,062 votes.

Setback for Sada Sarvankar
This election also delivered a major setback to Sada Sarvankar, who had won the Mahim seat in 2014 and 2019 under the banner of the undivided Shiv Sena. He had hoped for a hat-trick, but he too lost this time.

This year, the MNS faced a crushing defeat. The party was pinning its hopes solely on Amit Thackeray, but the results shattered that hope. In the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena could not win a single seat. After such a disappointing performance, the party now faces the threat of losing its recognized political party status and its election symbol, the ‘rail engine’.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had fielded candidates in 125 seats for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, but none of them were successful. Among the defeated candidates was Raj Thackeray’s son, Amit Thackeray.

Loss of Recognition
In India, political parties are required to meet certain criteria to retain their recognition and election symbol. To retain recognition, a party must win at least one seat. If a party fails to meet this criterion, the Election Commission can revoke its recognition and strip it of its election symbol.

This time, MNS received only 1.8% of the vote and failed to win a single seat. This is far below the required minimum standards. Based on this, there is a possibility that the MNS’s recognition could be revoked, and its reserved election symbol, the ‘rail engine’, could be taken away.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena entered electoral politics in 2009. This is the first time since then that the party has failed to win even a single seat in the Legislative Assembly elections. In 2009, the party won 13 seats, and in 2014 and 2019, it had one MLA each.