MUMBAI: In his first public address following the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray struck a defiant tone, saying the BJP “couldn’t finish off Shiv Sena on the ground” and “can’t buy loyalty despite employing all means.” Speaking to party workers in Mumbai, Thackeray said, “BJP wants to mortgage Mumbai, won polls by betrayal; Marathi manoos won’t forgive this sin.”

He added, “It’s our dream to get Shiv Sena (UBT) mayor elected; if God willing it will happen.” “There is a clear difference between the BJP and us. Shiv Sena may have been targeted on paper, but no one can erase it from the hearts of the people. Betrayers can be bought through money, pressure, agencies and tactics, but loyalty is never for sale. Our responsibility is now greater than ever,” he said. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) issued its first reaction on social media following the results, declaring, “This battle is not over yet. It will continue just like this until the Marathi person receives the respect they deserve!” The BMC elections saw the MNS win just six seats. Despite this, the Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance performed strongly in parts of south and central Mumbai, considered the Marathi heartland, winning most of the 20-odd wards there.Read also: ‘Battle is not over’: Thackeray cousins 1st reaction on Mumbai BMC election result The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured only two seats in these areas. The Thackeray cousins also won six of the seven seats in Worli, where Sena (UBT) faced rebel candidates in four wards. In contrast, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, strongly supported by the Gujarati community, won all seats in Mulund and seven of the 11 seats in Ghatkopar’s N ward. After almost three decades at the helm of India’s richest civic body, the Thackerays have lost control of the BMC to the Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP and former Shiv Sena loyalist Eknath Shinde, who split from the party three-and-a-half years ago. Mahayuti crossed the halfway mark of 114 seats in the 227-member House, with BJP winning 89 and Shinde’s Sena 29, giving BJP a narrow lead. It will need Shinde Sena’s support for major decisions. The Uddhav-Raj Thackeray combine won 71 seats — 65 for Uddhav’s Sena and six for Raj Thackeray’s MNS — retaining significant influence in Mumbai’s Marathi heartland. However, the alliance performed poorly in neighbouring urban centres, including Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Remains of mummified cheetah (AP photo)

Scientists have found the mummified remains of cheetahs in caves in northern Saudi Arabia, a discovery described as extremely rare, as the Associated Press reported.The remains are between 130 and more than 1,800 years old. Researchers uncovered seven cheetah mummies along with the bones of 54 other cheetahs at a site near the city of Arar.

(AP photo)

Mummification slows down decay and helps preserve bodies after death. While Egypt’s mummies are the most famous, mummification can also happen naturally in places such as deserts, glaciers and bogs.The newly discovered cheetah mummies have cloudy eyes and shrunken limbs, making them look like dried husks.“It’s something that I’ve never seen before,” said Joan Madurell-Malapeira with the University of Florence in Italy, who was not involved with the discovery.Scientists are not certain how the cheetahs were preserved so well. However, the study suggests that the caves’ dry conditions and steady temperatures may have helped. The findings were published on Thursday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.

Researchers have previously found mummified remains of other cats, including a saber-toothed cat cub in Russia. Still, it is rare for large animals to be preserved in such good condition. Apart from the right environment, the bodies must also escape scavengers like birds and hyenas.Finding such well-preserved evidence of ancient cheetahs in this region is highly unusual.To find such intact evidence of cheetahs that lived long ago in this part of the world is “entirely without precedent,” study author Ahmed Boug with the National Center for Wildlife in Saudi Arabia said in an email.Cheetahs once lived across much of Africa and parts of Asia. Today, they occupy only about 9% of their former range and have not been seen in the Arabian Peninsula for decades. Experts say habitat loss, hunting and a lack of prey are key reasons for their decline.For the first time, scientists were also able to study the genes of naturally mummified large cats. They found that the cheetahs were most closely related to modern cheetahs from Asia and northwest Africa. This information could help future efforts to bring cheetahs back to areas where they no longer live.

ULHASNAGAR: An extremely interesting and closely fought contest unfolded in Ulhasnagar between the two key Mahayuti allies—the BJP and the Shiv Sena—turning the civic election into a high-stakes political battle.In the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), the BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 37 of the 78 seats. The Shiv Sena, which contested the elections separately in alliance with the local Team Omie Kalani (TOK), the SAI Party, the Republican Party of India (RPI), and with support from some independents, put up a tough fight and secured a total of 38 seats (36 Shiv Sena+ 2). Apart from these two major players, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) won 2 seats, while the Congress managed to secure 1 seat. With the majority mark set at 40 seats, no party has been able to cross the halfway line, leaving the question of who will form the ruling body wide open.

UMC was once dominated by the influence of Pappu Kalani. Over the past few years, power in the civic body was shared by the Shiv Sena, BJP, and the local SAI Party. Subsequently, the BJP even enjoyed power independently for two-and-a-half years with the support of the Kalani faction. However, this time, with Ulhasnagar falling under the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a different strategy was adopted.Determined to keep the BJP out of power in the municipal corporation, Shrikant Shinde forged an alliance with TOK, the RPI, and the SAI Party. Despite these efforts and the presence of influential local leaders such as Pappu Kalani, his son Omie Kalani, and SAI Party leader Jeevan Idnani— in Ulhasnagar politics—the Shiv Sena-led alliance could manage only 36 seats on its own. With its two allies winning two additional seats, the alliance’s tally reached 38, still falling short of the majority by two seats.On the other hand, the BJP found itself in a challenging position as senior party leaders were largely focused on Mumbai. Local BJP leaders, including MLA Kumar Ailani, Ulhasnagar district president Rajesh Vadhrya, and election in-charge Pradeep Ramchandani, had waited until the last moment in the hope of a alliance with the Shiv Sena. When no alliance proposal came from the Shiv Sena, the BJP took a decision to contest all 78 seats on its own for the first time in Ulhasnagar.Relying largely on local leadership, a mix of experienced faces and new, educated, and young candidates—and barring a single rally by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis—the BJP fought the election without the backing of major star campaigners. This strategy paid off, as the party emerged as the single largest party in the corporation.In the previous election in 2017, with the support of the Kalani group, 32 BJP corporators were elected; however, out of those, only around 15 were actually from the BJP itself.Meanwhile, despite Shrikant Shinde’s direct involvement in the campaign and a rally by the Deputy Chief Minister, the Shiv Sena fell short of the magic number. Reacting to the BJP’s performance, District BJP President Rajesh Vadhrya said the party gave opportunities to both experienced leaders and new, educated youth. He added that under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan, the party fought the election effectively and achieved a significant victory.

NEW DELHI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Maharashtra civic elections 2026 have marked a decisive shift in the urban political landscape. Held after a delay of nearly four years due to legal challenges and prolonged administrator rule, the elections across 27 municipal corporations and 2,869 seats were widely seen as a test of governance credibility and of existence for some.The verdict was emphatic. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance emerged as the dominant force in urban Maharashtra, projected to win more than 1,800 seats statewide. In Mumbai, the Mahayuti crossed the majority threshold in the 227-member BMC, with the BJP seizing over 90 wards alone in its favour.

With this, there ended the Shiv Sena‘s uninterrupted control of the civic body since 1997 and marked the BJP’s first real capture of India’s richest municipal corporation.

WINNERS

1. Devendra Fadnavis and BJPThe biggest and the obvious winner of the civic polls verdict is Devendra Fadnavis and the Bharatiya Janata Party.The BJP has won over 90 wards of the BMC on its own, compared to 82 in 2017. In key wards such as Mulund West (Ward 103), the BJP defeated the MNS by a margin exceeding 12,000 votes.

Statewide results reinforced this dominance. The BJP led in Pune Municipal Corporation with over 50 of 162 seats, secured a majority in Navi Mumbai (40 of 67), and crossed 80 seats in Nagpur’s 151-member civic body.Axis My India had estimated the BJP support among first-time voters (18–25 age group) at 47 per cent, while 44 per cent of women voters backed the party, influenced by welfare schemes such as Majhi Ladki Bahin and promises of tighter audits of civic spending. With the BMC’s annual budget exceeding Rs 60,000 crore, control over Mumbai’s civic machinery also enhances the BJP’s long-term institutional leverage ahead of the 2029 assembly elections.

2. Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena For the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the civic results offered political validation.Since the 2022 split, the Shinde faction’s central challenge has been legitimacy. The civic verdict, particularly in Mumbai and Thane, strengthened its claim. The party has won/leading on 352 wards and has emerged as the second largest party in Maharashtra civic polls.In Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar, the Shinde faction recorded near-sweeps, reflecting voter preference for continuity in infrastructure delivery over symbolic politics.3. Mahayuti alliance The BJP–Shiv Sena–NCP Mahayuti alliance once again sealed the victory in Maharashtra.Despite contesting separately in some cities, the alliance demonstrated effective vote transferability in Mumbai, Nashik, and Nagpur. The alliance won or is leadinf in over 1,700 wards across Maharashtra.With a major victory, Mahayuti showed how to converted state-level power into grassroots and civic dominance.4. AIMIMThe All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) made modest but consequential gains in Maharashtra civic elections.The party registered victory/is leading on 94 wards, primarily in Muslim-majority pockets such as Bhendi Bazaar and parts of Kurla and Mumbra. In Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, it crossed 15 seats.While these numbers remain small, AIMIM’s presence seems to have fragmented the opposition vote, particularly hurting Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). 5. K Annamalai and ‘rasmalai’When the results of the Maharashtra civic elections were being tallied, one of the most unexpected stories to emerge was not about seats won or wards lost. It was about narrative currency — how a Tamil Nadu BJP leader emerged as a winner without contesting.And it all started with the ‘rasmalai’ controversy which begun when while campaigning in Mumbai for the BMC elections, Annamalai had said the city didn’t belong to Maharashtra alone as it was an international city.The remarks triggered a sharp exchange at a joint Shiv Sena (UBT)–MNS rally in Mumbai. MNS chief Raj Thackeray took a swipe at Annamalai, mocking him as ‘rasmalai’ and questioning his authority to comment on Mumbai. He also raised the slogan “hatao lungi, bajao pungi”, a phrase long used derogatorily against South Indians in the city.However, Mahayuti won and BJP MPs and supporters were soon having a field on social media, posting photos of ‘rasmalai’ and mocking Raj Thackeray.

Losers

1. Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena The biggest electoral setback was suffered by Uddhav Thackeray. From over 130 BMC seats in 2017, Sena (UBT) fell to 72 seats. Even traditional strongholds such as Gorai and parts of Mahim witnessed defeats. The loss of control of the BMC is a big blow to Uddhav the Sena has always maintained its control over the civic body.His long-anticipated reunion with estranged cousin Raj Thackeray also failed to make any impact on the ground.2. Congress The Indian National Congress emerged as one of the biggest losers of the BMC and Maharashtra civic elections because the results exposed its near-total erosion in urban politics.In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Congress was reduced to around 21 seats, a sharp fall from its already diminished presence in 2017, when it had crossed 30. Across Maharashtra’s 27 municipal corporations, the party managed roughly 306 wards out of 2,869. In Pune, once a Congress-influenced city, the party was restricted to fewer than five seats out of 162, while in Mumbai it failed to emerge as a serious contender in most wards.In Pune, it was reduced to fewer than five seats. The party which decided to go solo after that Thackeray cousins jouned hands, failed to make any impact in BMC polls where Uddhav’s Sena won 72 seats. It seems that lack of a city-specific agenda, factional infighting and minimal national leadership presence during the campaign compounded the decline.3. Raj Thackeray and MNSFor Raj Thackeray, the civic polls reinforced a long-term downward trajectory.The leader joined hands with his cousin Uddhav to keep the BJP at bay. But the results show how he failed miserably. During the election campaign, he tried to appeal around the idea of the ‘Marathi Manoos’ while invoking Balasaheb Thackeray. This politics of sentiment obviously has deep roots in Maharashtra’s history. He relied on fiery speeches, symbolic gestures and cultural flashpoints to command attention, often targeting migrants, linguistic outsiders, or perceived cultural dilution in Mumbai. Unlike mass welfare or governance-driven politics, his appeal was rooted in ‘Marathi asmita’.This, however, failed to resonate with the voters. The MNS failed to secure major wins, while getting only 11 of 227 wards in Mumbai. At the state level, the party managed to get only 18 of 2869 wards.4: Sharad Pawar Sharad Pawar emerged as one of the biggest losers of the BMC and Maharashtra civic elections as the results exposed the steady erosion of his once-formidable grip over urban and organisational politics.For decades, Pawar was seen as the master strategist of Maharashtra, capable of shaping outcomes even when not in direct power. The civic verdict punctured that perception. The NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) failed to make any meaningful impact in the BMC, getting just 1 win in Mumbai wards and remaining marginal in Pune, a city long considered central to Pawar’s political influence.His strategy to join hands with nephew Ajit Pawar for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections also failed as the BJP secured victory in these bodies.Statewide, the faction’s ward tally was 28 of 2869 wards, far below expectations for a party led by a veteran of his stature.Crucially, Pawar’s traditional role as an alliance-builder also lost relevance. Fragmentation within the opposition and the rise of a dominant Mahayuti alliance reduced his ability to act as a power broker. This time, though reports suggested he wanted the Maha Vikas Agadi to fight as a unit, he failed to keep the parties together, especially after the Thackeray cousins joined hands, pushing Congress to go solo.10. Ajit PawarDespite being part of Mahayuti, Ajit Pawar has emerged as one of the losers this election. During the civic poll campaigns, Ajit Pawar repeatedly hit out at his own Mahayuti allies, Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis, exposing visible faultlines within the ruling alliance.As election date approached, he finally decided to unite with his uncle Sharad Pawar to contest Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad elections as a united front.His attacks were also unusually sharp for an alliance partner, with Pawar questioning why local bodies under BJP–Shinde control still struggled with water supply, roads and urban planning. In several rallies, he projected his faction as a corrective force within the government rather than a stakeholder in its record. . The civic results however suggest the tactic backfired. Ajit Pawar’s faction underperformed in Pune and Nashik, reinforcing the perception that public sparring with allies during elections diluted his credibility and bargaining power within the Mahayuti rather than strengthening it. Eventually, the Pawar lost their strongholds, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, to BJP with huge margin.

KALYAN: The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), long regarded as a stronghold of deputy chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his son Shrikant Shinde, MP from the region, has once again reaffirmed its political alignment with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena–BJP Mahayuti alliance. This election marked the first major civic test in the city after the split in the Shiv Sena, and the results clearly underline the consolidation of power by the ruling alliance.The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) emerged as the single-largest party by winning 53 seats, while its ally, the BJP, delivered an equally strong performance by securing 50 seats. The BJP’s showing is particularly significant as it represents a marked improvement over the 2017 civic polls, when the party had won 42 seats.

BJP leaders have credited this performance to the efforts of Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan, who is also the MLA from Dombivli and played a key role in ensuring the victory of a maximum number of party corporators. Compared to the previous election, the Shiv Sena repeated its tally of 52, while the BJP gained nine additional seats.The BJP also recorded a higher strike rate, winning 51 of the 57 seats it contested, whereas the Shiv Sena won 52 of the 67 seats it fought. While most BJP candidates were elected comfortably, the Shiv Sena faced resistance in several wards where the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to make inroads.Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 11 seats, while the MNS won five — a drop from its 2015 performance, when it had won nine seats. Local UBT leaders, speaking off the record, attributed their limited gains to the absence of senior leadership during the campaign. They pointed out that neither Uddhav Thackeray nor Aditya Thackeray visited Kalyan-Dombivli even once, which, according to them, benefited the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

In a game-defining moment during the second innings of Match 9 in WPL 2026, Grace Harris pulled off a spectacular flying catch to dismiss the dangerous Bharti Fulmali. As the Gujarat Giants attempted a late-innings surge to chase down RCB’s formidable 182, Harris proved that her value to the Bengaluru side extends far beyond her explosive batting. The Australian star showcased elite anticipation and hang-time to intercept a powerful stroke that seemed destined for the boundary. This ‘game-changing’ effort not only halted a brewing partnership but also effectively sealed the match for RCB, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the tournament.

Grace Harris Aerobatics to dismiss dangerous Bharti Fulmali during RCB-W vs GG-W match

The dismissal occurred in the 17th over when Lauren Bell delivered a deceptive, back of a length outside off and it stays low that forced Fulmali into an awkward, checked drive. Fulmali, looking to clear the infield and find the boundary, mistimed the stroke, sending the ball on a low, dipping trajectory toward the mid-off region. Grace Harris, who had been chirping and encouraging her bowlers all evening, reacted with predatory instincts the moment the ball left the bat.

Sprinting forward with explosive speed, she realized the ball was falling short of her original position and committed to a full-length, horizontal dive. With her eyes locked on the leather, Harris thrust both hands forward, plucking the ball just millimeters above the turf before her chest slammed into the ground. The sheer momentum of the dive saw her slide across the grass, but she held the ball aloft with a triumphant roar, signaling the end of Fulmali’s spirited 39-run cameo. The catch left Bell beaming and the DY Patil crowd in raptures, as it removed the Giants’ last remaining hope for a miracle finish and underscored RCB’s dominance in the field.

Here’s the video:

Also WATCH: WPL 2026: Arundhati Reddy stuns Sophie Devine with a blinder in RCB-W vs GG-W game

WPL 2026: Shreyanka Patil’s historic fifer and RCB’s clinical victory over Gujarat Giants

In a dominant display of spin bowling at the DY Patil Stadium, Shreyanka Patil claimed a magnificent 5/23 to lead Bengaluru to a 32-run victory over the Giants. Defending a formidable total of 182/7, which was set up by a record-breaking 105-run partnership between Radha Yadav (66) and Richa Ghosh (44), RCB’s bowling attack proved too potent for the Giants’ middle order. Shreyanka’s masterclass began in the powerplay when she successfully reviewed a leg-before shout to dismiss the dangerous Beth Mooney (27), a wicket that fundamentally broke the back of the chase.

The collapse was further accelerated by the brilliance of the RCB fielders, most notably Arundhati Reddy, who took a stunning return catch to remove Sophie Devine and Harris, who executed a spectacular forward-diving catch off Bell to dismiss Fulmali. Shreyanka then returned to clean up the tail, utilizing her deceptive carrom balls to trap Kanika Ahuja LBW and inducing mistimed shots from Kashvee Gautam and Tanuja Kanwar.

The young off-spinner finished the job in the 19th over, securing her maiden WPL five-wicket haul and ensuring RCB remains the only undefeated team in the tournament. Despite early resistance from Mooney and a late flurry from the tail, the Giants were restricted to 150/9, as RCB’s tactical discipline and high-octane fielding secured their third consecutive win of the season. This comprehensive performance has firmly established Smriti Mandhana’s side as the frontrunners for the 2026 title.

Also WATCH: WPL 2026: Debutant Shivani Singh pulls off a jaw-dropping one-handed stunner during RCB-W vs GG-W clash

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

THANE: The Shiv Sena, led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, managed to completely rout the UBT in the undivided Sena citadel that had incidentally given the party its first power seat after its formation.While the Sena bagged 75 seats in the 131 House, including the six unopposed seats, the UBT managed to get only a green horn Shahji Khuspe elected to the House, where he defeated Sena strongman Ashok Vaity from the Kajuwadi ward 13, which is incidentally home to deputy CM’s residence. This is the second time after 2017 that the Sena has got a asingle-handed majority.

The fight in Thane was considered a huge prestige issue for both the factions of the Sena where Shinde, who had the crucial task of retaining the winning streak, managed to hit the bull’s eye by getting a single-largest majority and permanently smudging the traitor tag off his team and also importantly managed to cement his position as the true heir of Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideological legacy. The UBT, led by Uddhav Thackeray, has been nudged out of the city which once gave it the first power seat.

Meanwhile, the BJP clocked in 28, and with the Sena numbers, it has adequate strength to anoint Mahayuti mayor to the Thane House. Interestingly, the Sena had got nearly 67 candidates, a majority in the 2017 House.On the other hand, the two factions of the NCP collectively managed to get 20 seats, a clear drop from 34 that it won in 2017. The Sharad Pawar faction that contested 41 seats managed to win 12 seats, including greenhorn Abhijit Pawar, who was in the news recently for switching loyalty to the Ajit Pawar faction and returning to SP fold the following day. The Ajit Pawar camp won 9 seats.In a huge surprise, a ‘Congress mukt Thane’ situation arose as the party failed to get even a single seat of the 65 seats it contested. City party president Vikrant Chavan who has been representing ward 7 since the last several decades also lost out. “This is possibly a first in the history of the corporation since it was formed that the Congress may not have a representative in the House,” said a party leader from Thane.A surprise element was the MIM, which managed to get 5 seats in the Thane House, an increase of three from the previous term. Meanwhile, the counting process reported friction between two rival groups at the New Horizon Scholars School in Hiranandani Estate, Friday evening, following which extra police personnel had to be deployed.Deputy CM Eknath Shinde thanked voters from Thane, especially the laadki bahins for supporting the Sena to break its previous record and cross the 71-seat mark and replicate its stellar performance in single-handedly winning the corporation. “The Mahayuti (Sena and BJP) have collectively secured over 100 seats in the corporation and we will soon anoint our mayor,” he said.Several rebel candidates from the BJP and Sena who were denied tickets at the last minute, contested from prominent seats as independents but failed to make an impact.

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