The Shiv Sena (UBT)–MNS alliance, led by cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, may go beyond Mumbai and extend to Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Nashik civic polls. Sanjay Raut said talks are underway, calling the unity of Marathi people the strength of the Thackerays. Mahayuti leaders, however, dismissed the pact, vowing to sweep all upcoming elections.
(From left) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray with MNS chief Raj Thackeray at Matoshree in Bandra on the occasion of the former’s birthday. File pic/By Special Arrangement
The possibility of an alliance between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will not be limited to Mumbai. The poll pact between the two parties, headed by Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj, is likely to extend to key municipal corporation elections in Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Nashik as well.
On Friday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut, speaking to the media in Nashik, hinted at an alliance beyond the Mumbai civic polls. “Two cousins, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, have come together and will contest the BMC elections. Talks are ongoing to form an alliance in major municipal corporations. The unity of Marathi people is the combined strength of the Thackeray cousins, and it will continue,” Raut said.
Elections for the 227-seat Mumbai civic body and 28 other municipal corporations are expected in late 2025 or early 2026. In the 2017 BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena secured 84 seats, while the BJP won 82, just two short of matching Sena’s tally. The MNS had won 7 seats, but six corporators later joined Uddhav Thackeray’s camp.
Within hours of Raut’s statement, the Mahayuti (BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP) declared they would sweep all upcoming elections. BJP leader Pravin Darekar remarked, “For twenty years, they never took Raj and the MNS seriously. Now, to stay relevant, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is talking about an alliance with the MNS.”
Since the 2022 split engineered by Shinde, 53 of the 84 corporators from the UBT camp have joined his faction. The upcoming BMC election is seen as a do-or-die battle for Uddhav, and equally for Raj Thackeray’s MNS, which has been losing political relevance. With the Thackeray cousins likely to team up, the contest for control of the BMC will intensify, with Uddhav aiming to retain it, and the BJP and allies determined to snatch it away.
Shinde Sena MLA and Maharashtra minister Pratap Sarnaik also dismissed the development. “Let any alliance take shape; it is the Mahayuti that will install its mayor in all corporations,” Sarnaik said. Asked directly about the cousins joining hands, he replied, “It doesn’t make any difference.”
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
