Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut said in a post on social media platform X that Uddhav and Raj will jointly address the media on Wednesday to announce their plans to contest the local body elections in alliance
Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) president (in yellow) and MNS chief Raj Thackeray (in red). FILE PIC/SAYYED SAMEER ABEDI
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are likely to formally announce their alliance for the prestigious Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) poll on December 24. The Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, are likely to extend their tie-up for the Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pune municipal corporations, too.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut said in a post on social media platform X that Uddhav and Raj will jointly address the media on Wednesday to announce their plans to contest the local body elections in alliance. Elections to the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations will be held on January 15, 2026, and counting of votes will be done on the next day.
There has been no official word yet as to how the 227 municipal seats will be shared between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS. However, leaders from both parties say the Sena (UBT) may contest around 135 wards, while the MNS could field candidates in about 80 wards. If the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP also joins the alliance, it is likely to be offered around 10 to 12 seats, or else these seats, too, will be divided among both parties.
A senior Sena (UBT) leader, on the condition of anonymity, stated that besides Mumbai, Thackeray will announce the alliance pact for five to six other major municipal corporations, including Thane, which is said to be the bastion of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “Uddhav and Raj’s reunion is expected to consolidate Marathi votes and pose a serious challenge to the BJP and its ally, the Shinde Sena, in the city and other municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region,” the leader added.
Meanwhile, the BJP and Shinde are on the last leg of finalising the seat-sharing formula for the polls to the BMC and other municipal corporations. Both Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shinde are said to have had a closed-door meeting to sort out seat sharing for the Mahayuti. Both camps are confident of inking an alliance and formally announcing the same in two to three days.
Questions about the future
With the Congress staying out of the Thackeray-led alliance, questions are being raised about whether the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS will extend their partnership beyond the Mumbai civic polls and fight the 2029 Maharashtra Assembly elections together. Sena (UBT) was part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with Congress and NCP-SP. While Pawar is likely to continue with the Thackeray cousins, Congress has announced it will go solo for the local polls as it cannot be part of any alliance with the MNS, which has been indulging in a tirade against non-Marathi-speaking people living in and around Mumbai.
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