At their joint rally in Shivaji Park on Sunday, both Raj and Uddhav Thackeray accuse BJP of reshaping Mumbai to benefit Adani Group
(From left) Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray share the stage at a joint BMC election rally at Shivaji Park on Sunday, marking their first appearance together at the venue in nearly 20 years. Pic/Rane Ashish
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday ditched his trademark “Lav re to video” style and instead used a large-screen presentation to attack the rise of the Adani Group under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.
Calling the upcoming civic polls the “last election for Marathi interests”, Raj urged voters to unite, warning that missing this moment would lead to lasting regret. Addressing a massive rally at Shivaji Park, he compared Adani’s position before 2014 with its rapid expansion after the BJP came to power. “No business house anywhere in the world has seen such explosive growth in just a decade,” Raj claimed. He also reiterated his opposition to the bullet train project, arguing that it harmed local interests.
Sunday’s rally marked the first joint public meeting in Mumbai since Raj and Uddhav Thackeray announced their reunion. During his 45-minute address, Raj read out a list of land parcels and projects allegedly allotted to the Adani Group in Maharashtra, accusing the government of favouring a single corporate entity. He claimed that since the 2024 Assembly elections, the BJP-led government had begun acting without restraint. “This happens when politicians stop fearing the people,” he said.
Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj questioned how leaders who were once accused of corruption and jailed were now part of the government and sharing the same stage. “Where has all the alleged evidence gone?” he asked, alleging that such politics was aimed at dividing Marathi voters and capturing Mumbai.
Second appearance in a week
This was the Thackeray cousins’ second joint appearance after Nashik on Friday, with their final joint rally scheduled in Thane on Monday. Polling for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and 28 other municipal corporations will be held on January 15, with counting the following day. The Thackeray camp is attempting to retain control of Mumbai, while the BJP-Shinde Sena alliance is mounting an aggressive challenge.
Uddhav Thackeray, who spoke after Raj, echoed the allegations, claiming the BJP wanted control of Mumbai to benefit the Adani Group. He alleged that 50 to 60 per cent of cement used in major development projects came from Adani-linked companies.
Uddhav said the Shiv Sena had once aligned with the BJP when it stood for “Nation First”, but accused the party of now following “Corruption First”. He questioned why the BJP was willing to ally with leaders such as Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu, and Mehbooba Mufti despite their criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS, while refusing to align with the Sena. According to Uddhav, it was because the Sena would resist what he described as attempts to gain unchecked control over Mumbai.
Referring to the Ambernath tie-up, Uddhav said his party was accused of abandoning Hindutva for working with the Congress, while the BJP faced no such scrutiny when it entered similar alliances. Appealing to voters to fight to protect Marathi identity and Maharashtra, he said, “History will judge us by what we do now. We will contest these polls with a pledge that Mumbai will not be looted or divided.”
Background
Raj Thackeray quit the Shiv Sena in 2005 and formed the MNS a year later, but the party’s influence in Mumbai has steadily declined, hitting a low in the 2024 Assembly elections when it failed to win a single seat. After nearly two decades of rivalry, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have reunited in the name of Marathi pride, even as many party workers remain unhappy over ticket distribution.
The undivided Shiv Sena, in alliance with the BJP, ruled the BMC for nearly 25 years and remained the single largest party. However, the Sena–BJP alliance broke in 2017, and the Shiv Sena split again in 2022 after Eknath Shinde’s rebellion reshaped Maharashtra’s political landscape.
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