THE AGEING LION ROAR MIGHT HAVE BECOME FEEBLE BUT IT STILL COUNTS IN MUMBAI IF THE OUTCOME OF THE BMC AND PUNE CORPORATION ELECTIONS IS ANYTHING TO GO BY, SAYS KETAN TANNA.

Hate him. Love him. But ignore him at your own peril. The brand Thackeray has still not been stamped with use by the date. And by extension his party, the Shiv Sena. No wonder, on Friday afternoon, the Sena- BJP had reasons to smile. And why not? For the next five years, they would still be calling the shots at Indias richest municipality, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and its little cousin the Thane Municipal Corporation.

Years have gone by. Since Sena- BJP lost power in the state elections. Thackerays heart operation put a break on his lifestyle. People deserted him or were thrown our. And yes, age did catch up with Bal Thackeray when turned 86 on 23rd January this year. The fanfare was missing.

What with 'achar sahinta'( code of conduct) sword waiting to strike ( its another matter that Beni Prasad Verma and Salman Khurshid of Congress can get away with brazen behaviour).

On his birthday, in a message to supporters, Thackeray said he would not be able to meet them like he did in the past. " Then, meeting you was my tonic. It still is. However, I don't have the same strength I had earlier," he said.

The roar was muted. So why and how did the Sena- BJP romp back to power? There are theories and more theories about the return of Sena- BJP to power both in the BMC and the Thane Municipal Corporation. But a common thread that runs through all these theories is that the Marathi manoos delivered the city and Thane to the Sena.- BJP. 'Cadre based parties normally do well in elections.

And both Sena and the BJP have an effective cadre at the local level. The Congress does not,'analysed Abhay Mokashi, political commentator and former political editor of Mid- Day.

That the Marathi manoos identifies itself with Thackeray is clear than daylight. 'The voting is an expression of the identity of the Marathi manoos and his perceived marginalisation. It is the expression of the frustration and disconnect of the Marathi people,'says Kumar Ketkar, Editor of Divya Marathi.

For the Marathi people in Mumbai and in adjoining Thane, the Shiv Sena- BJP are the ones who can solve their local problems.

'They trust the Sena- BJP to solve local problems like drainage and roads. Therefore, the people of Mumbai vote for Sena- BJP during local elections and when it comes to the national issues, it is Congress and to a smaller extent, the NCP,'says Mokashi And yet the same Congress- NCP failed to garner a bigger vote share because they did not come with any viable alternative agenda. Surendra Jhondhale, Head of Political Department, Mumbai University said that the image of Congress had taken a battering and what was worse was that they did not offer any credible alternative development plan. Equally, the infighting within Congress cost them dear.

But it would be an incomplete assessment of the elections without talking of the much touted king- maker Raj Thackeray. That he had benefited because of his famous surname is clear. And yet, may be somewhere along the lines, he was too clever by half and indulged in negative politics.

During elections, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray told his supporters that Sena had lost peoples support. To that Bal Thackeray retorted 'Does he ( Raj) have a machine to monitor peoples minds?'. Touché.

Clearly, the roar of the feeble lion from Kala Nagar was loud and clear. Clear enough to bring his mahayuti back to power.