BMC elections 2017 results tomorrow; Rs 3,000 crore at stake, bookies prefer Shiv Sena over BJP

Mumbai: While the civic elections in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – the country's richest municipal corporation – has become a prestige issue for two main parties, BJP and the Shiv Sena, it has also activated bookies in the illegal betting syndicate.

A report in DNA claimed on Wednesday that nearly Rs 3,000 crore has been put on stake for this election in the illegal betting market.

Various exit polls conducted after the BMC elections, results for which will be declared on Thursday, have claimed a neck-and-neck battle between the two main players - BJP and Shiv Sena.

According to a latest exit poll, BJP is likely to get around 80-88 seats, while Shiv Sena is projected to get 86-92 seats.

Moreover, Congress is expected to get 30-34 seats. NCP and MNS are likely to get  3-6 and 5-7 seats respectively, according to Axis-My India opinion poll aired on India Today.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with an annual budget of over Rs 37,000 crore, has 227 seats.

The illegal betting market, the bookies have put highest bet on Shiv Sena, which is likely to emerge as a single largest party with at least 90-95 seats in the 227-seat BMC. 

After a record 56% voter turnout yesterday, both BJP and Shiv Sena have made tall claims of victory. The stakes are high for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who led their respective parties from the front and were involved in a no-holds-barred campaign, relegating the opposition Congress, NCP and other players like MNS and AIMIM to the background.

Zee24Taas also claimed that bookies see Shiv Sena winning at least 95 to 100 seats, while BJP is expected to get 50 to 70 seats. Bookies have bet 25 paise to the rupee on Shiv Sena and 34 paise to the rupee on the BJP.

The Congress and NCP, it is predicted, will win at least 25 and 12 seats respectively. The bet on Congress is Rs 2.25 to the rupee and Rs 1.10 to the rupee on the NCP.

Interestingly, the Raj Thjackeray-led MNS has not figured anywhere in the betting list.