04 January,2026 12:39 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Former Mumbai Mayor Shubha Raul joins BJP in the presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis in Kandivali on Sunday. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
In a blow to Shiv Sena (UBT) ahead of the Mumbai civic elections, former Mayor Shubha Raul on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, after resigning from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
Raul's resignation comes on the same day that Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray announced the manifesto of their alliance, and is being seen as a setback for the Thackeray camp. Voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and 28 other civic bodies in Maharashtra is scheduled for January 15.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have joined forces ahead of the Mumbai civic polls because they fear the ruling Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP, news agency PTI reported.
"This is not a preeti sangam, but a bheeti sangam (the cousins have come together not out of love but out of fear)," Fadnavis said while addressing a campaign rally in north Mumbai on Sunday night.
"Somebody told me that a cartoonist (Raj) and a photographer (Uddhav) have united," he added. "I told the person that confusion and corruption have united."
Fadnavis also claimed he had offered a Rs 1,000-reward to anyone who could find Uddhav Thackeray speaking on the topic of development.
"Now I have decided to increase that amount to Rs 2,000," he said.
Commenting on the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President unveiling their manifesto earlier in the day, Fadnavis said they could have launched it a day earlier, on the birth anniversary of Rajmata Jijabai, the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
"But in recent times, our old friends have started sitting with those allergic to Vande Mataram, so I am not aware what else they are allergic to," he said, without naming either Raj or Uddhav.
At the rally, the ruling alliance released its campaign song "Mahapalika radate aahe (municipal corporation is crying)," highlighting alleged misrule during the period when Shiv Sena (UBT) controlled the BMC, PTI reported.
(With PTI inputs)
