‘MNS and Sena UBT will contest together in BMC polls': Sanjay Raut

Indian Express

a day ago

Amid the buzz of an alliance between the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Shiv Sena (UBT), Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut on Friday claimed that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will together contest the upcoming civic body elections in the state including the BMC and emerge victorious. Though brothers Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have not yet officially announced anything regarding a pre-poll alliance, Raut said talks were already underway for several municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Kalyan Dombivali and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. He asserted that 'no one can break the unity of the Thackerays.'
'The Thackeray brothers will contest the civic polls together and they will win. Talks are already going on for several municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. No evil force can now break the unity of the Thackerays,' he said. 'For Maharashtra and Marathi unity, the brothers have unsheathed the sword. Our discussions with MNS are still ongoing, but the goal is clear—to ensure victory in every civic body where we contest together,' he added.
Although neither Uddhav nor Raj has formally announced the official alliance, the two parties have already come together for the August 18 election to the BEST Employees Co-operative Credit Society in Mumbai where the Sena (UBT)-affiliated BEST Kamgar Sena and the MNS-affiliated BEST Kamgar Sena are contesting jointly against a BJP-backed panel led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's aides Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar. The move marks the first electoral collaboration between the cousins in years, following a series of public appearances together—including a Marathi language event earlier this year on July 5 in Mumbai and Raj's visit to 'Matoshree' on Uddhav's birthday.
Sena UBT sees Mumbai and Thane as a key battleground. For the Sena UBT, winning the BMC would be retaining its bastion and rule over Mumbai and winning Thane Municipal Corporation would be a symbolic blow to rival Eknath Shinde, whose political career began there and who currently dominates the body.
Leaders from Sena UBT believe that an alliance could revive their organisational presence in Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, where both parties have historically drawn significant Marathi support.
The BJP, however, dismissed Raut's statement, with BJP leader Pravin Darekar likening the Sena (UBT) to 'an impatient groom who injures his knee before the wedding' and alleging that Raut feared his party's 'extinction' without MNS support.
Since the speculation began, workers and office-bearers from both parties have been seen together at protests and public functions, further fuelling talk that the estranged cousins may formally reunite for the long-delayed municipal polls across Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Raut also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his independence day speech, alleging he had turned the country 'from religious to fanatically religious' and 'adopted the Congress's Swadeshi slogan, becoming Gandhian–Nehruvian.'