Mumbai mayor race: BJP tapping phones of own and Shiv Sena corporators, claims Sanjay Raut

Amid a controversy over the Mumbai mayor’s post, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) claimed that the phones of newly elected BJP members and Shiv Sena “locked” in a luxury hotel were tapped by the ruling party.

He said that BJP’s companies were kept under surveillance by the workers of this party.

The BJP rejected Mr. Raut’s allegations, stressing that the party does not resort to such activities as it has confidence in its own companies.

Mr. Raut claimed that the Mumbai mayor was determined by Delhi; This is an insult to Maharashtra and he criticized the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“BJP workers are monitoring the movements of every company of the party. The BJP is also tapping the phones of its own companies,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP told reporters.

He added that even the phones of Shiv Sena corporators “locked” in a luxury hotel were tapped.

As the Mumbai mayoral race heats up and tensions deepen over the ruling Shiv Sena’s stance, Raut met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

In the latest polls, the BJP-Sena alliance ended the Thackerays’ nearly three-decade-long monopoly on the country’s richest civic body; which meant that Mumbai would not have a mayor chosen by Uddhav Thackeray.

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won a clear majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, securing 89 and 29 seats respectively.

Shiv Sena then shifted all 29 newly elected members to a luxury hotel in Mumbai, ostensibly for an orientation workshop on the functioning of the civic body.

Mr. Shinde insists that Mumbai’s next mayor will be from Mahayuti (BJP-Sena combine). However, he had also hinted at Shiv Sena’s claim to the post, projecting it as a mark of respect to Bal Thackeray on the centenary of his birth, invoking the sentiments of Shivsainiks.

Maharashtra BJP media chief Navnath Ban rubbished Mr. Raut’s claims.

“We don’t need phone tapping, but Raut should explain who tapped the phones of Eknath Shinde and Uday Samant when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (led by Uddhav Thackeray) was in power. We have strong support from corporates and do not engage in such activities.”