BJP takes ‘rasmalai’ jibe at Raj Thackeray as saffron camp surges in Maharashtra civic polls

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. (File: PTI)

• BJP and allies lead in key Maharashtra civic polls, including Mumbai's BMC
• BJP counters Raj Thackeray's "rasmalai" jibe with election win posts
• MNS leads in 16 seats; voter turnout around 50 percent across 29 civic bodies

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday took a jibe at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over his remarks targeting Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, even as early trends from the Maharashtra civic polls showed the saffron party and its allies making strong gains across key municipal bodies, including Mumbai.

Senior BJP leaders and MPs used social media to respond to Thackeray’s “rasmalai” jibe, with Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan posting, “Ordered some rasmalai. #BMCResults,” a remark widely seen as a political dig tied to the election outcome.

BJP Yuva Morcha president and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya also hit back, calling it a “sweet ‘Rasmalai’ victory for @BJP4Mumbai in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Election.”

He congratulated Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and party workers, saying, “The Triple Engine Sarkar, under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, will work strongly for Mumbai’s redevelopment and improve Ease of living for all Mumbaikars.”

The reactions came as BJP leaders expressed confidence over the party’s performance in the civic polls. Speaking in Nagpur, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said trends indicated that the BJP was “heading towards a majority” and that the ruling Mahayuti coalition was poised to secure a two-thirds mark.

“The people of Maharashtra have voted for development,” he said, adding that the BJP could touch a “51 per cent vote share.” He also pointed to the party’s strong showing in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, saying voters had backed the vision of Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

As per trends, the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena were leading in the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls in a majority of wards counted so far, while the party was also ahead in several other civic bodies. Polling for elections to 29 municipal bodies across Maharashtra was held on Thursday, with counting underway on Friday.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, speaking to CNN-News18, said the results showed that “people have shown we are the real Shiv Sena,” taking aim at the Shiv Sena (UBT). He further said there would now be a “triple-engine government in Mumbai,” adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to develop the city as a fintech capital.

The BJP’s pushback follows Raj Thackeray’s comments at a joint UBT-MNS rally, where he had mocked Annamalai, saying, “One rasmalai came from Tamil Nadu… What is your connection to come here… Hatao lungi bajao pungi.”

The BJP termed the remarks “hateful.” Annamalai later responded strongly, saying, “Who are Raj Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray to threaten me? I am proud to be a farmer’s son,” and added, “I will come -- try cutting my legs.”

Thackeray had also reiterated his stand against what he called attempts to impose Hindi and framed the BMC election as “decisive” for the Marathi community, remarks that have further sharpened the political contest as the results unfold.

The MNS is leading in 16 seats as per the trends.

The 29 civic bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), have 2,869 seats on offer and 3.48 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in these major urban centres of the state. The municipal corporations that went to polls include Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Nashik, Malegaon, Ahilyanagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded-Waghala, Parbhani, Jalna, Latur, Amravati, Akola, Nagpur and Chandrapur.

Voting took place on Thursday with Mumbai and other civic bodies seeing a voter turnout of around 50 percent.