Thackeray Group Breaking: मुंबईत उद्धव ठाकरेंच्या पक्षाला मोठा धक्का Uddhav Thackeray
Thackeray Group Breaking: मुंबईत उद्धव ठाकरेंच्या पक्षाला मोठा धक्का Uddhav Thackeray sikaNews18 Lokmat is one of the leading YouTube News channels which delivers news from across Maharashtra, India and the world 24x7 in Marathi. Stay updated on all the current events shaping Maharashtra's political...
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News18
4 hours ago
- News18
Raj Vs Uddhav Or Raj With Uddhav? 'Thoughtful' Thackerays Keep Maharashtra Leaders Guessing
Even as workers and local leaders from Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) increasingly share political warmth on the ground, the much-hyped alliance between the cousins remains stuck in limbo. Neither has officially shared any proposal for an alliance, though party leaders from both sides are making statements about the possibility. The narrative took a turn on Thursday morning when Raj Thackeray and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis held a closed-door meeting at a posh hotel in Bandra. With Mumbai's high-stakes municipal elections nearing, this meeting is seen as a potential game-changer, possibly designed to check Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT). For months, the two parties have displayed signs of reconciliation at the grassroots level. MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) functionaries have been seen engaging cordially at multiple forums, sparking speculation of a potential tie-up that could reshape Marathi politics in the city. Though Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray didn't reveal anything about the meeting, speculation that Raj Thackeray's MNS might receive support from the BJP and Mahayuti in the upcoming BMC elections has generated considerable political buzz.
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader discontinues Marathi class for non-Marathi people due to poor response
Mumbai: In April, around the time the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was flexing its muscles—quite literally, after failing to do so politically in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections—by assaulting people for not speaking in Marathi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey came up with an idea. To ensure the MNS did not hijack the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Marathi agenda, the 44-year-old announced he would launch a free Marathi-speaking course to help non-Marathi speakers who recently moved to Mumbai. Initially, there was enthusiasm for the course, with around 1,500 registrations, according to Dubey. 'We had identified two locations in Kandivali and a third in Malad for the classes, and were planning to expand further,' he said. The first batch began in mid-April in Kandivali, a suburb with a significant north Indian population, with around 50 students. However, Dubey's initiative would eventually fall victim to a perennial issue in a city with a burgeoning population, inadequate public transport and poor road conditions—commuting time. 'After the first week, attendance went down to around 50%,' said Dubey. 'Participants said that due to their office timings or their work-related issues, they found it difficult to attend regularly. Meanwhile, many of those who registered informed us that they could attend online classes, but it was not possible to attend physically due to work- and travel-related issues.' The Marathi agenda To think that a party helmed by the son of the legendary Bal Thackeray is fighting to ensure another party does not hijack its pro-Marathi agenda is seeped in irony. The Shiv Sena was founded in 1966 by the late Bal Thackeray to address the perceived marginalisation of Marathi-speaking people in Maharashtra. Its core agenda was to promote the interests of the Marathi manoos or sons of the soil. This agenda resonated with many Marathi-speaking voters in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, as the Shiv Sena took control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 1985. Since then, it has never lost the polls to India's richest civic body. When Chhagan Bhujbal, then with the Shiv Sena, became the mayor of the city, he came up with the slogan 'Sundar Mumbai, Marathi Mumbai' (Beautiful Mumbai, Marathi Mumbai), with a commitment that the cosmopolitan metropolis with a diverse population would be seen as a city of Marathi people. The Shiv Sena has frequently reasserted this issue—of Mumbai's Marathi identity—in the last four decades. In March 2025, the issue was back on the political agenda after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi remarked that Mumbai does not have one language and that anyone coming to the city need not necessarily learn Marathi. His remark kicked up a controversy, with both the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS criticising it and using it to target the RSS and its political offshoot, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At his Gudhi Padwa rally on March 30 at Shivaji Park, MNS chief Raj Thackeray delivered a fiery speech emphasising the importance of the Marathi language and identity. He said that those who claim they cannot speak Marathi in Mumbai would 'get a slap on the face'. Immediately after the rally, there were several reported incidents of MNS workers assaulting people for not speaking Marathi, including bank and supermarket employees. The MNS's target appeared to be north Indians, the second-largest linguistic group in Mumbai after Marathis. Ever since it was formed in 2006, the party has had a history of aggressive rhetoric and violence against north Indian Hindi-speaking migrants in Maharashtra. It was in this backdrop that Dubey, who was born in Varanasi before his family moved to Mumbai when he was four, announced a Marathi-speaking course for non-Marathi people. The course was to be one month long and free. Dubey, who started his political journey with the Congress before joining the Shiv Sena in 2019, urged non-Marathi speakers to register for the course. He put up hoardings in Kandivali saying, 'Don't be afraid. Let's speak Marathi. Let's respect Marathi.' He also circulated a message on social media slamming the MNS for beating non-Marathi people for not knowing Marathi, but doing nothing to help them. There's no doubt the timing of Dubey's initiative was opportune, with the BMC elections expected to be held for the first time since 2017 after the monsoon. Following the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and a debacle in the 2024 assembly polls, the BMC elections could be make or break for the Shiv Sena (UBT). Party chief Uddhav Thackeray is keen to get the support of north Indians living in Mumbai. Dubey launched the Marathi-speaking course in Kandivali, where he's based. He appointed teachers who used to teach Marathi subjects in schools. Initially, it received a good response, with around 1,500 people registering. Accordingly, in the third week of April, the classes started, with the first batch of around 50. Most of the participants were north Indians, including shop owners, auto-taxi drivers, salesmen, employees of private companies and a couple of highly educated engineers. The challenges However, after the first week, attendance started dwindling as participants found it difficult to attend the class physically. Some participants also left the batch midway as they went to their hometowns for the summer vacations, Dubey said. As a result, the second batch could not start. Gulab Maurya, 42, a private sector employee from Dahisar who attended the first batch, said it was a good initiative and benefited him personally. 'The teacher, Rahul Jadhav, taught us communication skills in Marathi. First, he taught us similarities between Hindi and Marathi and then taught us words and sentences required in public places. After the first week, people started dropping out as some of them went on vacation, and some had work-related issues. At the end of the month, around 25 people completed the course. It gave me confidence that I can speak basic Marathi at office places and public places,' said Maurya. Lalu Yadav, 28, who runs a fruit stall in Dahisar, said that the class tenure should be around three months so that people can learn better. 'It was a good course to learn communication skills in Marathi. It was for one month, but I feel that it should be for around three months so that people can learn properly. Some people are quick in learning another language, but most people need time for it. Many people were demanding an online class, but I personally feel physical attendance is a better way to learn,' said Yadav. Dubey has discontinued the course for now, but said he would revive it if there is still demand for it. 'I am willing to restart it at any point in time,' he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Harshal Pradhan said the initiative had the party's support and was not a political move. 'Teaching Marathi to non-Marathi people is not a political event for us. It's a social service started by Dubey, and the party supports it. It would be continued as per the demand by people,' he said. However, the MNS's Mumbai president, Sandeep Deshpande, dismissed the initiative. 'It was nothing but a political stunt by Dubey. Those who want to speak Marathi learn it from other sources, and they don't need Dubey's class,' he said. Whether Deshpande changes his stance if the estranged cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray do reunite after two decades, as has been the subject of growing speculation in the last couple of months, remains to be seen.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
Sena will contest civic poll in Nashik with Mahayuti: Samant
Nashik: State minister for industry and Marathi language Uday Samant of Shiv Sena on Friday said his party would contest the upcoming election to Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) in alliance with BJP in Mahayuti. Samant, who was in Nashik city, expressed confidence that they would emerge victorious in NMC election. When asked about BJP's claim that they would contest 100 seats in the upcoming election to NMC, Samant said his party would contest the civic poll in Nashik in alliance with BJP as a Mahayuti partner. "Party chief Eknath Shinde has clearly stated his intention to contest the civic poll in Nashik with Mahayuti," he said. Regarding deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP, Samant said Sena's alliance with BJP was a natural one. "Even CM Devendra Fadnavis has described the alliance with NCP, which was formed later, as a political adjustment," he said. When asked if MNS would join Mahayuti during the civic polls in Maharashtra, Samant said they would welcome MNS chief Raj Thackeray if he decided to join Mahayuti. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
