Aditya Thackeray thanks colleagues after Sena (UBT) youth wing sweeps Mumbai University senate elections

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray, who is the President of Yuva Sena, the party’s youth wing, on Saturday, thanked his colleagues for a clean sweep in graduate constituency elections to the University of Mumbai Senate

“Once again! 10 on 10 it is! We have not only repeated but bettered our performance at the Mumbai University Graduate Senate elections. 100 per cent strike rate.

From here we start the election victory stream,” said Aditya Thackeray ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

SS (UBT) chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said: “The victory was possible due to the tough efforts of the Yuva Sena leaders and workers, and also as the votes for the university senate cannot be bought.”

ABVP state secretary Sankalp Faldesai said it was an election between a student union versus political giants and the (ABVP) put up its best performance but there may be some strategic lapses which they would introspect.

The Yuva Sena candidates defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – which failed to open its account – in the keenly-watched elections, held after a two-year delay.

The Yuva Sena erupted into celebrations as results trickled in after the last of the votes were counted in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg – the jurisdiction of the varsity through its 850-plus affiliated colleges.

A total of 28 candidates from various students’ wings of mainstream political parties were in the fray to attract the 13,406 graduate voters in the September 24 elections, though barely 55 per cent of them cast their votes at 38 polling stations and 64 polling booths in the six coastal districts.

The Yuva Sena winners are Sneha Gawli, Sheetal Sheth Devrukhkar, Mayur Panchal, Dhanraj Kohchade, Kisan Sawant, Pradeep Sawant, Shashikant Zore, Milind Satam, Alpesh Bhoir and Paramatma Yadav.