Mumbai, Jan. 16 -- Exit polls on Thursday predicted a clear majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, suggesting that the Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, would fail to stop the ruling combine from taking control of India's richest civic body after one of the fiercest election battles held in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the Congress and its ally, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), among others, are expected to be a flop show. To be sure, exit polls are not always accurate. According to Axis My India, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is expected to win between 131 and 151 seats. Its main rival-the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)-Nationalist Congress Party (SP) alliance-is projected to secure 58-68 seats. The Congress-VBA alliance is expected to win 12-16 seats, while others, including independents and smaller parties such as the NCP, AIMIM and Left parties, are projected to win 6-12 seats. In terms of vote share, Axis My India predicted that the Mahayuti alliance would secure around 42%, with the BJP accounting for 28% and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena for the remaining 14%. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance is projected to secure a combined vote share of 32%, with Shiv Sena (UBT) at 24%, MNS at 7% and NCP (SP) at 1%. The Saam TV exit poll predicted that the Mahayuti coalition is likely to win 119 seats, with the BJP accounting for 84 and Shiv Sena, 35. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance would be able to muster 77 seats, with the breakdown being 65, 10, and 2, respectively, according to the organisation. DV Research offered a more conservative estimate, projecting 107-122 seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, 68-83 seats for the Thackeray-led alliance, 18-35 seats for the Congress-led alliance, and 8-15 seats for others. Jubilant Data Studio (JDS) projected a stronger showing for the Mahayuti, estimating 127-155 seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, 44-64 seats for the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance, and 16-25 seats for the Congress-led combine. The JVC exit polls also indicate a strong performance by the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, which is projected to win around 138 seats and secure a vote share of 42%-45% in the metropolis. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance is estimated to win 59 seats, with a vote share of 34%-37%. The Congress-led alliance is projected to win 23 seats, garnering a vote share of only 13% to 15%. The BMC has 227 seats, and a party or alliance must secure 114 seats to secure a majority. In the last BMC elections in 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena bagged 84 seats, while the BJP won 82. In neighbouring Thane, considered to be the stronghold of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, where the Shiv Sena and BJP contested together, the former is expected to bag 72 seats and its alliance partner 26, the Saam TV exit polls said. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS are likely to bag three and two seats respectively. According to Jubilant Data Studio, the Shiv Sena is expected to win seats in the range of 69-76 in Thane, the BJP could bag 26-30 seats, Sena (UBT) (0-2), MNS (0-1), NCP (SP) (12-16), NCP (6-8) and Congress (1-2). In Pune, it said the BJP could win 79-92 seats, followed by NCP (48-61). The Shiv Sena could win 8-11 seats, NCP (SP) (4-6), Shiv Sena (UBT) (4-5) MNS (0-2), and Congress (11-14)....