Mumbai:
Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have formally announced an alliance for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, marking a rare political reunion between cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray. The partnership was unveiled at a joint press briefing in Mumbai, signalling a coordinated attempt to consolidate the Marathi vote and challenge the ruling Shinde Sena–BJP coalition ahead of the January 15 civic election.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray publicly declared the pact, stating that both parties would contest the city’s local body polls as alliance partners and expressing confidence that Mumbai would elect a “Marathi mayor” from the combined bloc. Uddhav Thackeray echoed the sentiment, asserting that the city’s electorate would back the alliance despite the high-decibel contest expected over the next few weeks.
The alliance gains added significance given the timing—just weeks before the BMC polls, considered India’s most financially powerful municipal election. The move comes amid visible strain within the ruling coalition, which has faced multiple “friendly contests” in recent civic seats, underlining unresolved friction over local seat-sharing arrangements.
Senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut described the reunion as a major course correction after two decades of fractured Thackeray politics. He said the alliance restores the original “sons of the soil” political plank championed by Balasaheb Thackeray at the founding of the Shiv Sena, adding that the split between Thackeray factions had weakened Maharashtra politically in the past. Raut also framed the pact as a strategic effort to counter what he alleged was misgovernance and political “loot” in Mumbai under the current coalition.
Raut further invited dissatisfied leaders from the ruling camp to join the new alliance, portraying it as a broader regional reset aimed at reviving Marathi political influence in India’s commercial capital. Political observers see the pact as a direct bid to strengthen identity-driven voter consolidation ahead of a contest that will determine control of the country’s wealthiest municipal body for the first time since the 2022 Shiv Sena split.
The BMC polls are expected to be one of the most closely watched civic elections in recent years, with both the ruling and opposition alliances now locked into an intense battle for Mumbai’s administrative helm.
