Mumbai: In the first reaction after a positive verdict in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut said here that the victory was a slap on the face of Congress-NCP. Sena-BJP-RPI alliance looked set to emerge as the largest block in the BMC by early afternoon.
"Mumbaikars have slapped Congress-NCP across the face," said Raut, adding that citizens of the megapolis would never tolerate the insult of Shiv Sena president Bal Thackeray.
Referring to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan`s statement during the campaign that Sena supremo would become irrelevant after the Mumbai polls, Raut said the results were a slap for Chavan too.
About Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which was expected to eat massively into Shiv Sena`s vote bank, Raut said, "There is nothing like MNS factor." Raut added that Ramdas Athavale-led faction of Republican Party of India, which had allied with Sena-BJP for these polls, did contribute to the alliance`s performance.