Sena (UBT)-MNS Alliance Faces Test in BEST Credit Society Election

Voting for the board of directors of the BEST Employees’ Cooperative Credit Society Ltd concluded in Mumbai on Monday, marking the first electoral collaboration between Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The two parties, led by cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, formed the ‘Utkarsh’ panel, fielding 21 candidates—18 from Sena (UBT), two from MNS, and one from the BEST SC/ST Employees Welfare Association. Vote counting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 19.

The election, involving over 15,000 members of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, is seen as a precursor to a potential broader alliance for upcoming local body polls, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The Utkarsh panel aims to retain Sena (UBT)’s historical dominance over the society, which manages a corpus exceeding ₹1,000 crore and provides loans and welfare schemes for employees.

Five panels competed, including the BJP-backed ‘Sahakar Samruddhi’ panel led by MLC Prasad Lad, a panel from Shashank Rao’s Mumbai Electric Workers’ Union, and one aligned with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The contest was not without controversy, as MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande accused rivals of vote-buying, alleging in a video on X that a BEST member received an envelope with two ₹500 notes hidden in a pamphlet. “This is a clear game to manipulate the election,” Deshpande stated, vowing to file a complaint with the election officer.

Also Read: MNS Alleges Vote-Buying in BEST Credit Society Election

The poll follows a July 5 reconciliation between the Thackeray cousins, ending two decades of estrangement. Sena (UBT) leader Suhas Samant called the alliance a “ray of hope” for Marathi voters, while MNS’s limited presence in BEST underscores the strategic nature of this partnership. The outcome could boost morale for both parties, which faced setbacks in the 2024 assembly elections, and signal their strength against the ruling Mahayuti coalition ahead of BMC polls.

Also Read: Sena (UBT)-MNS Alliance Looms for Maharashtra Civic Polls