Money, power or compulsion, why did Uddhav and Raj Thackeray come together in BMC elections?

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are to be held on January 15 next year. Just before this election, a formal alliance has been formed between Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bala Saheb Thackeray) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Shiv Sena has been in power in BMC for 29 years but now the situation has changed. To maintain their hold even in the changed circumstances, the Thackeray brothers have joined hands and have announced to contest the elections together. At present it has not been told which party will contest the elections on how many seats.

On the occasion of coming together, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that both have come together to live together. At the same time, Raj Thackeray said that there is an alliance between the two, we have come together today to express this. Before this announcement, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray reached Bal Thackeray Memorial located in Shivaji Park and paid tribute to Bal Thackeray. Their wives and sons were also present along with both of them.

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On this occasion, taking a dig at BJP, Uddhav Thackeray said, ‘Those who cannot see the things happening in BJP, they can come to our alliance. Raj Thackeray said, ‘The next mayor of BMC will be a Marathi and that mayor will be ours.’

After the formal announcement of the alliance, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said, ‘We were waiting for this time for many days. This is a very important moment for us and for Marathi people. This is the first biggest event for Marathi Manush after 1960. This will impact the politics of Maharashtra.

When Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut was asked about seat sharing, he said, ‘Number sharing is business in politics. There is no business between brothers here. This is family. We will see what we have to do. We have requested Congress many times that if BJP has to be defeated then everyone will have to come together.

BMC and Shiv Sena

BMC has been in control of Shiv Sena for the last 29 years. In 1996, Shiv Sena established its hold by ousting Congress from power in BMC and till date no one has been able to defeat it. Leaders like Nandu Satam, Milind Vaidya, Vishakha Raut, Shraddha Jadhav, Sunil Prambhu and Kishori Pednekar became mayor of Mumbai only because of Shiv Sena. However, now the situation is different. Shiv Sena has divided into two parts and the more powerful faction is now with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) is fighting for its survival and its efforts faced a major setback in the assembly elections.

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The last elections of BMC were held in 2017. Elections were to be held in 2022 but due to various reasons the elections were postponed. Now voting is to be held on January 15 and the election results will be declared on January 16. The budget of BMC, which is said to be Asia’s largest municipal body, is more than that of many states. In February 2025, BMC had presented a total budget of Rs 74,366 crore.

There are a total of 24 wards at the administrative level in BMC which are divided into 227 wards. That means the elections are held for 227 wards. For majority, victory in 114 wards is necessary. In the 2017 elections, Shiv Sena had won 84 seats but then Shiv Sena and BJP had contested the elections together. BJP had got 82 seats and together they had made their mayor.

Journey of Raj Thackeray and MNS

Raj Thackeray, who was once considered the political successor of Bal Thackeray, left Shiv Sena in 2005. Only a year later, he formed his new party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). In 2009, MNS contested the assembly elections for the first time and won 13 assembly seats. However, his influence started fading as time went on. In the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections, MNS could win only one seat each. In 2024, it suffered another big setback and all the candidates of the party including Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray lost the elections.

Shiv Sena broke, Uddhav became weak

The year 2019 was a great year for Shiv Sena. Mahayuti won the assembly elections but Uddhav Thackeray was adamant on the post of CM. When BJP did not agree to this, Uddhav Thackeray joined hands with Congress and NCP and became the Chief Minister. At last Eknath Shinde rebelled. Uddhav’s bad times started from here. Due to the split in the party, Uddhav Thackeray lost the majority and resigned from his post on 30 June 2022.

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Later, Eknath Shinde staked claim on Shiv Sena formed by Uddhav Thackeray’s father Bal Thackeray and became its real leader. Uddhav Thackeray had to be content with Shiv Sena (UBT) with a new name and new symbol. When Lok Sabha elections were held in 2024, Shiv Sena (UBT) got some relief. Shiv Sena itself (UBT) won 9 seats and Maha Vikas Aghadi won 30 seats. However, this happiness continued in the Maharashtra assembly elections.

When Maharashtra assembly elections were held in 2024, BJP became the largest party by winning 132 seats and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), who became the Chief Minister in 2019, was reduced to only 20 seats. At the same time, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 57 seats. The impact of the split in the party was such that many senior leaders left Uddhav and joined different parties.

All these reasons show that for Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, BMC elections are no longer just a political necessity. Now this is the last fight for survival for the Thackeray brothers. If both of them together are able to hold on to BMC, then at least their political influence will remain intact in Mumbai and they will also be able to present a joint challenge to other parties.