Is Shiv Sena-MNS alliance for BMC polls alone? Sanjay Raut confirms Thackeray cousins will join forces Municipal Corporations too

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday announced an alliance with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, putting months of speculation to rest.

Before the two leaders addressed the media, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut declared that the Thackeray brothers will contest the municipal elections of Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Nashik, Thane, and Pune together, along with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Addressing a joint news conference, cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray said the two parties have come together to stay together to ensure a Marathi person will become the next Mayor of Mumbai. They stopped short of revealing details of the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties for the high-stakes BMC elections. "Mumbai's mayor will be Marathi and will be ours [from our alliance]," Raj said. Uddhav said the parties have finalised their seat-sharing for the Nashik Municipal Corporation, where elections are due on January 15, along with Mumbai and 27 other municipal corporations in the state. Talks are underway for an alliance between the two parties in other civic bodies, he added.

"Those who can't bear to see what is happening in the BJP can also come with us, as we know there are many proud Marathis in the ranks of that party," Uddhav said. "Today we have come together as a matter of duty. I had said earlier that we have come together to stay together. From now on, if anyone looks at Mumbai and Maharashtra with a crooked eye or with a deceitful heart, we will not stop without taking them out," Uddhav Thackeray was quoted as saying by local media.

"Maharashtra is bigger than any dispute or fight, and that is where we started coming together. Today, we are announcing that the Shiv Sena–MNS alliance has been formed. He said that the Mayor of Mumbai will be Marathi and he will be ours," Raj Thackeray said.

How the alliance will affect Maharashtra politics?

Alliance talks between the two parties for the crucial elections have been going on for quite some time. Uddhav and Raj Thackeray found themselves on the same side on the three-language policy for schools, which both opposed claiming it gave primacy to Hindi over Marathi. The estranged cousins shared a stage after nearly two decades at a joint victory rally in Worli here on July 5 following the withdrawal of GRs on the three-language policy by the Devendra Fadnavis government. On July 27, Raj visited Uddhav at the latter's residence Matoshree in Bandra to wish him on his 65th birthday, while in August, Uddhav and his family visited 'Shivtirth', Raj's house in Shivaji Park area in Dadar, for Ganpati festivities.

The elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Asia's largest civic body, as well as other 28 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will take place on January 15, and results will be declared the next day. United Shiv Sena has been controlling the BMC for almost three decades. In the 2017 elections, the BJP strongly improved its tally to cross 80-seat mark, while Shiv Sena's tally fell below 100. The BJP wanted to go for a kill as Devendra Fadnavis government was in power. But, it was Fadnavis himself who took the decision that BMC can remain with Sena, as the then government was in alliance with Shiv Sena.

The term of the BMC ended in 2022, and since then, it has been governed by a top IAS officer, who is the administrator. Currently, Bhushan Gagrani is the BMC commissioner and administrator. During elections, the Marathi vote is likely to unite and support the alliance of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray’s Senas.