Aaditya terms BEST Credit Society election 'trial ball'; Raj says `small matter'

Mumbai, Aug 21 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday said the drubbing of the joint panel of his party and MNS in the BEST Employees Credit Society election was a "trial ball", while MNS chief Raj Thackeray said it was a "small matter".

"It was a trial ball and it was played that way. There must have been shortcomings in the planning and there will be internal reshuffling. The election was related to a specific credit society," Aaditya said.

"You will come to know the inclination of Mumbai and Maharashtra, the strength of the two parties, two brothers coming together (in coming civic elections). It was a trial ball and one should see when the overs start," Aaditya said, using cricket terminology.

Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray said the election result was a "small matter".

When asked about his uncle's reaction, Aaditya said, "I am unaware of it." Amid a buzz about Sena (UBT) and MNS, led by estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, coming together for civic polls in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra, the two parties put up a joint panel in the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society election.

But the panel lost on all 21 seats. The rival panel of Shashank Rao bagged the maximum 14 seats.

The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) is the transport and electricity supply wing of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which the Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena controlled for over two decades. The BMC has been under an administrator in 2022. PTI PR KRK