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Ganesh Naik's nominee defeats Sena in mayoral poll

The ruling Shiv Sena today suffered a major setback when the rebel group led by sacked minister Ganesh Naik emerged victorious in the mayoral election at the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Naik's Nagari Vikas Agadhi candidate Vijaya Mhatre secured 33 votes while the Sena candidate Ranjana Shintare got just 24 votes.

Sena leaders Satish Pradhan and Vilas Awchat, and party veteran Anand Dighe, who had been specially deputed by party chief Bal Thackeray to supervise the ''great fight'', however, expressed their satisfaction that loyal corporators voted for the official candidate.

In the election for deputy mayor, the Sena suffered a further blow with its candidate Ashok Darekar getting just 18 votes compared to Naik's victorious candidate Madhuri Parab who got 39 votes.

Aghadi president Tukaram Naik, younger brother of the sacked minister, alleged that ''tonnes of money'' changed hands, which was why some of his group's corporators could have voted for the Sena candidate.

Naik also did not rule out the possibility of spreading the Nagri Vikas Aghadi to other civic bodies in Thane district and later to the entire state.

Congress district unit chief D R Patil told UNI that he was confident that his party votes did not split. At the same time, Independent group leader Santosh Shetty denied that all Independents voted as expected.

Ganesh Naik, however, had kept away from the poll. A victory procession, with the former minister's portrait mounted on a vehicle, was taken out in the city.

Anand Dighe told UNI that originally, the Sena corporators were to be neutral in the election, but Thackeray ordered them to fight it out to gauge his party's strength.

UNI

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