Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray has rubbished claims of youngsters moving to the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) after two of his candidates lost miserably in the “University Representative” elections of University of Mumbai, results of which were declared on Tuesday.
The Yuva Sena and earlier the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena, student wing of the Shiv Sena, had a stronghold on almost all student posts in the University and consequently the outcome is being viewed as a major setback.
According to the MNVS, their candidates had scored a thumping win in the students’ council elections over their rivals from the Yuva Sena by a comfortable margin. “Akshay Pujare of DG Ruparel College won the post of president by 15 votes to 0 votes for his rival Seema Devdiga from DAB College. Similarly, Reshma Patil from PD Lion College won by 10 votes to 0 for her rival Rekha Sable from Tukaram Kadam College”, the statement said. The MNVS, wanting to make most of the results, are touting the outcome as an indication of the youngsters turning towards Raj Thackeray. “The thumping victory of the MNVS candidates is proof of the increasing support for MNVS among the student community,” it added.
Mr Aditya, however, said that the loss could not be construed as an indicator of student preferences. “We have not been in a position to think and plan for these elections due to the recent developments. We have only begun our work again and service to the people is a priority,” said Mr Aditya.