17 May,2014 09:16 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
While workers flocked to offices of both parties in the morning on result day, crowds swelled outside Sena offices, while workers all but deserted offices of MNS
With Shiv Sena-BJP making a clean sweep in Mumbai, the mood was jubilant at the Shiv Sena party headquarters in Sena Bhavan, Dadar yesterday.
India 'Modi'fied: In-depth coverage of election results 2014
The mood was jubilant outside Sena Bhavan yesterday, with party workers wearing their allegiance on their sleeves; meanwhile, not a single MNS party worker could be spotted outside Raj Thackeray's residence. Pics/Sayed Sameer Abedi, Satyajit Desai
In stark contrast, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party office bore a desolate look. A pall of gloom also hung outside Krishnakunj, MNS chief Raj Thackeray's residence.
Party workers started gathering outside both Sena and MNS offices as the results started coming in last morning. But as the results rolled out, the crowds started thinning outside MNS offices, even as Sena workers started gathering outside their party offices in droves.
Speaking to mid-day, a Shivaji Park resident said, "This time, we wanted a change at the Centre. It was only because I felt that Modi can bring positive change that I voted for the Shiv Sena candidate instead of the one from MNS."
Soon after the results were announced, Sena party workers from Dadar, Lower Parel, and Lalbaug started gathering outside Sena Bhavan, chanting familiar slogans in support of the Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi.
Nasik dhols drummed up fervour among the workers. Meanwhile, silence reigned in the lane outside Raj Thackeray's residence, and the lane leading to it wore a deserted look, with not a single MNS worker in sight. Only constables and security guards manned the area.
An MNS party worker from Lalbaug said, "The election results have come as a great shock to us, because we were hoping to at least wing two or three seats.
But, with not a single win, it is a time for the party office bearers to think about what went wrong. If there is no planning or strategy, we may have to face bigger losses in the approaching assembly elections."
