16 December,2025 04:37 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Talks between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are progressing, Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday. File Pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said that his party and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will contest the upcoming BMC Election 2026 together, reported the PTI.
He said that the alliance which was likely to be announced soon will also be in major cities, including Thane, Pune and Nashik apart from Mumbai.
Raut said that a formal announcement of the alliance is likely to be made in the coming week.
Speaking to reporters, Sanjay Raut said that the discussions between Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray are progressing, and both leaders are expected to share the stage during the official announcement of the tie-up.
Sanjay Raut said that although elections will be held in 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, the "real battle" will be for Mumbai. He noted that the city has a special political and historical significance, having played a key role in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, according to the PTI.
Elections to all 29 municipal corporations in the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are scheduled to be held on January 15.
According to Raut, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will jointly contest civic polls in cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar, Pune and Nashik. He said decisions regarding alliances in other municipal bodies will be taken by the respective local units.
The Rajya Sabha MP also met MNS chief Raj Thackeray earlier in the day, reportedly to discuss seat-sharing and other related issues. After the meeting, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar confirmed that talks between the two parties would continue, adding that, for now, Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS are coming together.
Sanjay Raut said he had spoken to the Congress leadership and urged the party to contest the civic polls as part of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which he believes should also include the MNS. However, he claimed the Congress has left the decision to its local leadership.
"I don't see Congress coming together at this point," Raut said, adding that the party should avoid taking steps that could indirectly benefit the BJP. He also warned that people would remember the Congress's stand in future Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, according to the PTI.
He said that he will also hold discussions with NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, another key constituent of the MVA. While the NCP (SP) may not have a major presence in Mumbai, he said the party should contest alongside Shiv Sena (UBT) in other civic bodies across the state.
The upcoming civic polls will be the first major local elections after the splits in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2023, developments that significantly reshaped Maharashtra's political landscape, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)
