Sena (UBT) and MNS chiefs will field questions from MP Sanjay Raut and filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar on a host of subjects
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray (left) and MNS president Raj Thackeray at a press conference in a Worli hotel, where they announced their alliance for the upcoming civic election. File pic/Ashish Raje
Raj and Uddhav Thackeray are set to be interviewed jointly by Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut and filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar on January 6. A video of the same will be telecast ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, scheduled for January 15.
Manjrekar’s podcast, featuring the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, in 2025, was widely seen as a trigger in bringing the estranged cousins closer on a common political platform. During their interaction, Raj remarked that his political differences with Uddhav were “insignificant” when weighed against the larger interests of Maharashtra and the Marathi community. Uddhav later echoed this sentiment at a separate public event and claimed he, too, had no issues with burying the hatchet and coming together for the larger cause of Marathi pride.
According to party sources, the interview is likely to be recorded at a hotel in Mumbai’s western suburbs.
“The Thackeray cousins’ interview ahead of the crucial BMC polls is seen as a game changer by the rank and file of both camps,” a senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said on the condition of anonymity.
Raut has so far been sharing video interviews of Uddhav, but for the first time, Raj will also join the platform for a joint question-and-answer session.
The interaction is expected to cover a wide range of issues, including Marathi identity, the BMC, the current state of deteriorating politics, and the challenges the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance plans to pose to rival parties seeking to wrest control of the civic body. The Shiv Sena had held power in the BMC for nearly 25 years.
Until 2017, the Shiv Sena (then united) and the BJP jointly governed the civic body. However, in the 2017 civic elections, the two parties contested separately. The undivided Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party with 84 seats, while the BJP followed closely with 82 in the 227-member civic body.
In 2022, Eknath Shinde engineered a split in the Shiv Sena, forcing Uddhav to step down as chief minister. The rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, after which Shinde joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a new government in Maharashtra.
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