The Uddhav Thackeray faction is perceived as the "real Shiv Sena" by double the number of Marathi-speaking voters than those that believe the same for the Eknath Shinde-led faction, a Mumbai-based survey revealed on Thursday.
The new survey—released weeks ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on January 15, 2026—was conducted by Ascendia Strategies between December 17 and 24.
The survey saw 45 per cent of the 'Marathi Manus' respondents identify the Shiv Sena (UBT) as the "real Shiv Sena", in comparison to 22 per cent who felt that it was the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, as per a Moneycontrol report.
While these results—especially the 52 per cent backing the idea of a unified Sena—indicates that this idea still resonated emotionally with Mumbai's voters, it is yet to be seen whether the Shiv Sena (UBT) can perform at the 2026 BMC elections.
In fact, the party failed to make a dent in the local body elections held earlier this month, which were swept up by the ruling Mahayuti alliance parties—the BJP, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP—that mostly contested separately, with local equations resulting in cross-party arrangements at times.
The BJP won 2,431 seats—30-50 per cent of the seats in most regions—the Shinde faction won 1,025, and the NCP won 966, according to data from the State Election Commission (SEC).
Notably, though the poll does show the Mumbai voter base's confusion between nostalgia for a unified Sena and political legitimacy, uncertainty over the 'Shiv Sena legacy' is also on the rise, as 24 per cent were unable to say which faction represented the "real Shiv Sena".
Both Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde on Wednesday attacked Uddhav Thackeray over this, saying that it was this uncertainty and failed development that had "thrown (the brothers) out" of the elections—which they claimed would happen again in the upcoming BMC elections.