Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

File photo of NCP Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar.
| Photo Credit: ANI

On July 6, 2025, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray got front page space in Saamana, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece. Showing the two cousins Uddhav and Raj arm-in-arm, the strap above the masthead of the broadsheet blared, “Historic! Joy in entire Maharashtra!”

The front page was dedicated to stories of the show of unity by the cousins, their appeal to Marathi people, and how the reunification is slated to impact the State. “We have come together to stay together!”, “Thackerays have stood for mother Marathi!” said the headlines. At the time, they had not formally announced their coming together.

The previous day, the duo had met at the Worli Dome, a theatre-in-the-round, when they decided to mark the day as Marathi Vijay Diwas, to commemorate the Maharashtra government’s withdrawal of the three-language policy in primary education, which would have forced children to learn Hindi.

Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, and common friend of the Thackerays, who played a significant role in bringing them back together, says, “It was a moment the Marathi manoos (people) had been waiting for. ‘The Thackerays should unite for Marathi, for Mumbai, for Maharashtra,’ is the sentiment among several Marathi households. That dream has been fulfilled.” He called it an emotional moment in a break-up from two decades ago.

On Christmas Eve 2025, the cousins announced an electoral alliance between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the January 15 municipal corporation elections. While these are to be fought in 29 cities, the cousins have primarily joined hands for Mumbai, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and Nashik, in what is being seen as a battle for survival.

At the press briefing to announce their political alliance, the family turned up. Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray and Sharmila Raj Thackeray sat next to each other, on chairs next to the stage.

Raut stood between Uddhav and a slightly stiff Raj, before the duo posed for photographs together. At the venue was an enlarged photo of the two cousins with Balasaheb sitting in the centre and holding them as adults. Soon, party leaders jumped on to stage to hand over bouquets and felicitate them.

The family saga spanning three generations has all the masala of a Bollywood blockbuster: family drama, high emotion, suspense, distrust, and action. Based in Mumbai, the plot starts in erstwhile Bombay 60 years ago with the formation of a political party and a larger-than-life ideologue. The charismatic Balasaheb Thackeray, who built the Shiv Sena in 1966, on a ‘sons of the soil’ plank, had Bombay renamed to Mumbai, after the goddess Mumbadevi.

Sharing and compromise

On December 24, the duo invoked the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, setting the stage for their joint political agenda of regional linguistic identity and the alleged threat to this identity by ‘outsiders’. They talked of how these powers wanted to break Mumbai away from Maharashtra. The script was similar to Balasaheb’s appeal during the formation of Shiv Sena amid what he pushed as the growing threat of livelihood and cultural identity loss for Maharashtrians. The Marathi manoos plank unites people on linguistics rather than religion.

However, where Balasaheb had targeted people from south India and Gujaratis, Mumbai’s changing demographics, with several migrants from north India are the current ‘outsiders’. Rough estimates by political parties have put Mumbai’s Marathi-speaking population at over 30%, in tandem with the 2011 Census.

“The original ideology for the formation of the Shiv Sena itself was the Marathi manoos. Yes, thereafter Balasaheb took the stance of Hindutva, other things happened. But the Thackerays always had the Marathi manoos at heart,” says Raut. Uddhav’s and Raj’s grandfather ‘Prabodhankar’ Thackeray, was prominent in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, which eventually led to Mumbai going to Maharashtra in 1960.

The cousins did not field many questions about the alliance for the January 15 local body elections. “Who will fight on how many seats, we will not tell you,” Raj said, to a packed hall of journalists at a hotel on the Worli promenade. The crowd cracked up.

Of particular importance to the Shiv Sena (UBT) is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election. Traditionally, the Thackerays have controlled the BMC, the country’s richest civic body. Things changed in 2017, when the BJP got just two seats less than the Shiv Sena. The polls to BMC have been pending since 2022.

Sources say that in the BMC elections, Uddhav’s party would contest 163 seats, Raj’s on 53, of the 227 seats. Sharad Pawar’s NCP, that has been with Uddhav, is also in on the seat-sharing, with 11. “They had wanted a respectable seat share. Our position is also challenging as we have sitting corporators at several of these places. But Uddhavji has decided that he will adjust,” says a leader from the Shiv Sena (UBT).

“Raj saheb has told the party cadres, they should not stretch things. We are willing to compromise,” an MNS leader says. A total of 2,869 corporators will be elected in these polls, the results of which will be declared on January 16.

Reunion or reunification? 

The break-up years

Raj was seen to have inherited the aura and the oratory appeal of Balasaheb, his uncle. Uddhav, Balasaheb’s son, was known as the quiet organisation man who built discipline in the party. In 2003, Raj had supported Uddhav’s name as the party’s working president in Mahabaleshwar, despite growing tension between the cousins. This was a year after Balasaheb had named Uddhav as the executive president.

In 2005, Raj left the Shiv Sena after an acrimonious public fallout, when he called a press conference to announce his resignation, saying in an emotionally wrought voice, “All I asked for was respect…. All I got was insult and humiliation.”

He added, “I don’t have complaints against my Vitthal. I have problems with the coterie which wants to control everything,” with a reference to Balasaheb, who was called Vithhal by those close to him. Violence followed, as cadres felt torn between the two cousins. Famously, when now-peace-broker Raut had tried to convince Raj against exiting the Shiv Sena, angry supporters of Raj had vandalised and toppled Raut’s car.

Most of the old leaders had stayed with Balasaheb and Uddhav, and a handful went with Raj. The sentiment among the supporters of Raj was that he was being wronged and denied his due, and that he was Balasaheb’s rightful political heir. Uddhav’s supporters said he was building organisational strength. At that time, several top BJP leaders too tried to intervene to stop the cousins from parting ways. It did not work.

The following year, Raj founded the Navnirman Sena. In 2014, after a fallout between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, there were murmurs again, but Raj had then blamed Uddhav for failing to respond.

In 2022, Eknath Shinde, a grassroots organiser, split from Uddhav, taking 40 MLAs to form the government with the BJP.

Uddhav and Raj have often traded barbs over the style of functioning, leadership qualities, and ideological strength. Uddhav believed that Raj had helped the BJP by cutting the votes of the Shiv Sena. “First, they stole the photo of Bal Thackeray…. Today they are trying to steal another Thackeray. Take it, I and my people are enough,” he had said, in 2024. Raj called Uddhav an “accidental Chief Minister”.

Blood, and water under the bridge

From the first quarter of 2025 though, something changed. They said in separate public appearances that they were willing to put their problems aside ‘in the interest of Maharashtra’. With a BJP coalition now in power in Maharashtra, the statement came amid dwindling political fortunes for both.

In the State Legislative Assembly elections held in 2024, the Shiv Sena (UBT), which fielded candidates in over 90 seats, won 20, less than 10% per cent of 288, the strength of the lower house. In the Lok Sabha elections held the same year however, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine of the 21 seats it had fielded its candidates on. There are 48 seats for Maharashtra in Parliament.

The MNS has had consistent legislative losses, barring the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections, which were the first State elections for the party since its formation. From 13 MLAs then, the party has no representation in the Assembly. It had just one MLA in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The MNS has no representation in Parliament either.

“When there is an external threat, the family unites. This is the tradition of Maharashtra. Here, the family has united politically as well,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab says. “The cousins have different qualities. Raj’s oratory is charismatic. For a political party to flourish, it has to be disciplined, its organisational strength has to be increased. Uddhav does that well,” adds Parab.

“Blood is thicker than water. Ultimately, it is the family which stands with each other. We have no qualms against Raj saheb anymore,” a Shiv Sena (UBT) party worker from Sion, says. He recounts how he had participated in the violence outside Shiv Sena Bhavan in 2006, between the supporters of the two leaders.

Another leader highlights the hold of the family on the conservative, regional, and dynastic political landscape of Maharashtra. Both parties have so far fought for the same vote bank, confronting each other in the same Marathi-strong pockets.

Gen next

In the first two phases of city local body elections last month, the Shiv Sena UBT got presidents elected on nine of the 288 municipal councils and Nagar panchayats. “We don’t give importance to the elections fought with such money power. We had left these polls to our local cadres, who could not withstand the misuse of money and might. Over ₹100 crore was spent by the ruling parties here. Where were we supposed to get this money from?” says Raut.

On the last day for the withdrawal of candidature for the civic polls, January 2, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav’s son; and the MNS’ Amit Thackeray, Raj’s son, held a joint workshop for potential corporators. Their main campaign pitch is to be ₹1,500 monthly assistance for registered women domestic workers. They also announced support for the women of the Koli fishing community and relief on property tax.

The following day, 68 candidates in the Maharashtra civic polls from the Mahayuti alliance — the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) — are unopposed. This has united the opposition, including the cousins. Now, both Shiv Sena factions and the MNS are fighting for the same pie.

vinaya.deshpande@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Sunalini Mathew

Nagpur:

After a turbulent period in Maharashtra politics that saw a rearrangement of political alliances, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has clarified the BJP’s relationship with the Thackerays. “Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray was a friend, and now Raj Thackeray is a friend, but Uddhav Thackeray is not a shatru (enemy),” he said while interacting with senior journalist Vivek Ghalsasi.

While the Thackerays share Hindutva ideology with the BJP and have been natural allies for a long time, differences with Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray led to a separation in 2019. The BJP lost power and Mr Thackeray became the leader of a new alliance comprising the Sena, Congress and NCP.

With the BJP and Sena parting ways, Uddhav Thackeray’s estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, who heads the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), became closer to the BJP.

On meeting Uddhav Thackeray during the Winter Session of the Assembly, the Chief Minister said he had asserted he won’t indulge in the politics of revenge and that all leaders had responded positively.

‘Sharad Pawar Is Intelligent’

Mr Fadnavis also spoke about veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s praises for the BJP and the RSS after the election results. He said Mr Pawar has realised how the RSS overcame the fake narrative spread by the opposition.

“Before the assembly polls, many people inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb, who is very intelligent, would have studied this and realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. That is why he may have praised the RSS” he said, adding it is good to praise others in a competition.

The Chief Minister also spoke on the chances of Mr Pawar’s faction reuniting with the original party.

“If you see the developments between 2019 and 2024, I realised that anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to another party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. Anything can happen in politics but I am not saying this should happen,” he said at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme in Nagpur.

Mr Fadnavis said that before becoming Eknath Shinde’s deputy in 2022, he had asked from organisational work, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.

Who Is Stricter – Modi or Shah?

Mr Fadnavis did not give a straight answer when asked who is stricter – Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. He said that the Prime Minister is a very disciplined political while one can manage convince Mr Shah once in a while.

He said that after BJP got a huge mandate in Maharashtra elections, when it was proposed that the Chief Minister will be from BJP, ally Eknath Shinde agreed within minutes.

With Lok Sabha elections just about a month away, we are decoding Maharashtra’s political landscape at ‘NDTV Battleground’. The state has witnessed two rounds of  political shifts in the last three years with the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in the power now.

At ‘NDTV Battleground’, we discuss about state’s politics, growth, seat distribution in upcoming elections, challenges for the current government and the Opposition and much more. 

Here are the highlights:

Get NDTV UpdatesTurn on notifications to receive alerts as this story develops.

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist of Axis Bank, says, “People are saying affordable housing projects are not working. If you give connectivity and infrastructure to the area that has affordable housing,  people would want to go there,”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mutual Fund, “We need both cooperative federalism and competitive federalism. Competition is needed so that people keep working hard. Cooperative federalism is also needed. Amul showed us the way. Because of Amul, we have become the biggest milk-producer.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:

Maneesha Priyam, political analyst and researcher, says, “I visited some villages after RaGa yatra, and they said that he said good things but it was only about him. The PM visited a few days later, he spoke about development. The image of RaGa is improving but PM is miles ahead in terms of leadership.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:

Rohit Chandavarkar, senior journalist, says, “Prakash Ambedkar attended the Mumbai rally but it’s not sure if he would go with the INDIA bloc or not. If he goes with them, they will get that advantage. I also think the winning margin would be very low. I predict this time it would be around 40,000-50,000,”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Amitabh Tiwari, political strategist and commentator, says, “In Maharashtra, the allies have a good chunk of minority vote. Would this transfer to BJP or Sena – Uddhav thackeray? So, all these complexities are there in Maharashtra. The allies’ vote would also have Modi factor.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Sandeep Shastri, National Coordinator of Lokniti Network, says, “In 2014, north, west central focus was there, now it’s on south. In South, the 103 seats, the BJP and ally have 32 seats. They feel that they have some scope there. But the scope is there only in Telangana, Karnataka. Their gameplan is might not be for 2024 but its a long-term plan.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Rohit Chandavarkar, senior journalist, says, “Maharashtra is already a developed state industry-wise. So, jobs are not a big issue here. It might be an issue in UP but not here. Someone might have to leave their village but they will find a job 100 km away. The price rise is also not much of an issue here. Which is why caste is a big factor here, the opposition is also using the unrest in farmers.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Amitabh Tiwari, political strategist and commentator, says, “The opposition is confused. The INDIA bloc is there but we only hear Cong’s guarantees. When the voters hear this, they think about the model states. You see that in Karnataka.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:

Sandeep Shastri, national coordinator of Lokniti Network and a teacher, says, “I haven’t ever seen a survey where unemployment and inflation weren’t in top positions. People know that they are facing these issues. When our voter goes to vote, are they thinking about unemployment and inflation or are they thinking about something else? So, we need to think if emotions are a factor”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:

Manisha Priyam, a political analyst and researcher says, “Unemployment is a huge issue. But, the youth believes in the BJP because they know the party will work for it and deliver.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:

Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist of Axis Bank, says, “During Covid crisis, the economy was left behind by a year. But, it didn’t stop the labour force flow. This is the reason why we feel there is joblessness. But jobs are being created at 5 per cent. But to absorb all the labour force, we will have to grow above 7 per cent.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:

Political Strategist and Commentator Amitabh Tiwari says , “The BJP has put the ‘tadka’ of class politics on caste politics. The voting behaviour has become very complex. Voting is an emotional decision and not a rational one. But no elections can be called a done deal because of these  3 reasons – there are many late deciders in India, 25 per cent vote on the names of candidates, 69 per cent are floating voters and they are the kingmakers. Which is why in Maharashtra, it’s going to be unpredictable.” 

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Rohit Chandavarkar, a senior journalist, says, “Maharashtra can be a deciding state because of its numbers – 48. We haven’t seen so much uncertainty in the last 30-40 years that we are seeing now. It’s going to be very unpredictable here.”

NDTV Battleground Live Updates:
Sandeep Shastri, National Coordinator of Lokniti Network and a teacher says , “In this election I am focussing on 5  states – UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal –  where there is some scope for change. The results here would reflect the nation’s mood.”