Thackeray Cousins to Jointly Contest 6 Municipal Corporation Elections
Mumbai: With municipal elections announced in Maharashtra, the Thackeray cousins swung into action with senior Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut saying that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray’s MNS will jointly contest elections in six major municipal corporations, including Mumbai. Raut said the official announcement will be made this week.
“The two parties will come together for civic elections in major cities like Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Pune and Nashik. However, the decision regarding affiliation in other civic bodies will be taken by local bodies,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Mr. Raut said that the official announcement about the alliance is expected to be made this week. “The process has started now. Some people are uncomfortable with Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray coming together. There is no problem in announcing the alliance (between Shiv Sena-UBT and MNS) next week. Both the brothers will be seen on stage for the announcement,” he added.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also met with the MNS chief and held talks on seat sharing. After the meeting, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said talks between the two sides would continue but did not give further details. “As of now, Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS are coming together,” Mr. Nandgaonkar said.
Mr. Raut appealed to the Congress leadership to consider contesting the elections under the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with MNS.
“I don’t think the Congress will come together at this point. They should have been with us. I spoke to the party high command but they stopped deciding this issue at the local level. Our appeal to the local unit of the Congress is not to do anything that will help the BJP,” he said.
Describing the Maharashtra civic elections as “the second war for a united Maharashtra”, Raut said, “This election is about saving Mumbai, not just the 29 municipal corporations. 106 martyrs sacrificed their lives to ensure that Mumbai remains in Maharashtra. We will no longer allow Mumbai to fall into the hands of (union home minister) Amit Shah.”
Voting for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including BMC, will be held on January 15 and counting of votes will be held on January 16, 2026.
