11 February,2026 10:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Sanjeev Shivadekar
BJP leader Sangeeta Khandekar, who won the Chandrapur mayor’s post by one vote. PIC/X/@anjaya1905
In a twist that raises eyebrows, Shiv Sena (UBT) has joined hands with the BJP in the Chandrapur municipal corporation. Sena (UBT) has supported its friend-turned-foe, the BJP, for the mayor's post, despite the former long branding the latter as a party that "cannot be trusted".
The arrangement with Sena (UBT) backing the BJP for mayor in return for the deputy mayor's chair has left many within the party ranks stunned. As per the deal, the BJP will hold the mayor's post for the first 15 months, after which Sena UBT will take over for the other 15 months, marking a rare power-sharing pact between the two political rivals in Chandrapur.
On Tuesday morning, Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut stated that the party would not support the BJP at any cost. However, within hours of Raut's statement, the on-ground picture was completely different. The head of the Sena (UBT)'s Chandrapur unit stated that it had approached Congress for a post-poll alliance to claim the mayor's post.
Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP. FILE PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
"But Congress was not willing to part with the mayor post even for one year. Congress wanted it for the full five-year term. With Sena not getting anything from Congress, the local party unit started talks with the local BJP leadership and has got assurance for the mayor and deputy mayor posts on a rotational basis. In fact, Shiv Sena (UBT) will be getting a crucial and influential standing committee in the first and fourth year," the Sena (UBT) leader explained.
The Chandrapur mayoral election threw up a dramatic political twist despite the Congress emerging as the single largest party with 27 seats in the 66-member civic body, followed closely by the BJP with 23. Shiv Sena (UBT), which won six seats, found itself in a crucial kingmaker position, as no party could secure the mayor's post without its support. In the end, Sena (UBT) chose to back the BJP, enabling BJP's Sangeeta Khandekar win the Chandrapur mayor's post by just one vote, edging out the Congress candidate in a nail-biting contest.
Smaller parties and independents, the Bharatiya Shetkari Kamgar Paksh (Janvikas Sena) won three seats, the VBA secured two, and AIMIM, BSP, and Shiv Sena bagged one seat each. Two independent candidates were also elected, adding further complexity to the fractured mandate after the results were declared on January 16. Till late Tuesday evening, Sena (UBT) had not issued any official statement on the developments of joining hands with the BJP for one of the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra.
The Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, burying their two-decade-old differences, had joined hands for the cause of Marathi pride, with Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) contesting the civic polls together and campaigning aggressively against the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Sena. However, after the elections, the MNS backed the Shinde Sena in Kalyan-Dombivli and Nashik, a move that angered Sena (UBT) leaders and workers. Now, with Sena (UBT) itself extending support to the BJP in Chandrapur, the Uddhav camp appears to have also broken the unsaid rules of the alliance.
