It would be erroneous to believe that the BEST credit society polls will decide who occupies the BMC ‘sinhasan’ and runs Mumbai. Based on 12,000-odd votes it would be wrong to gauge the mood of nearly one crore Mumbai voters. There is no doubt that the Shiv Sena’s (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) performance for the BEST elections was the worst. Still, this cannot be considered as a curtain-raiser for the upcoming BMC elections.

But, if the credit society polls are really an indicator of what could be expected during the upcoming civic polls, then it is clear that the Thackeray cousins and their party leaders have failed to understand the undercurrents. In that case, the road to the BMC may well be the toughest ride yet for Uddhav and Raj.

The Thackeray cousins-led panel has drawn a blank in the elections. The results have not only left a mark on the ‘Thackeray brand’, but has even shown that in the battle of perception, former Shiv Sena chief the late Bal Thackeray’s son and nephew’s unity is yet to hit the right note.