Mumbai: An existential crisis reunited estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray after 20 years. Now, they are pitching the coming civic election in Mumbai as an existential battle not just for their own parties—the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)—but for the entire city and its Marathi identity.
On Wednesday, when the two brothers formally announced their electoral tie-up, Uddhav Thackeray said he was reminded of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement of the 1950s that brought together Marathi-speaking leaders, mainly from the Left parties, who pressed for creation of Maharashtra, with Bombay (as the city was known then) at its core.
Uddhav and Raj’s grandfather Keshav Thackeray, popularly known as Prabodhankar, was a key figure of the movement.
There was an atmosphere of intense animosity towards the government amid fears that if Mumbai goes to Gujarat, its entire capital would be legitimately owned by Gujaratis. The city was besieged by slogans such as ‘Mumbai amchi, nahi konacha bapachi’ (Mumbai is ours and does not belong to anyone’s father), and ‘Mumbai Tumchi, Bhaandi Ghasa Amchi.’ While the first slogan was proclaimed by the Marathi population, the second one was a retort that meant, ‘Mumbai is yours, now get to scrubbing our utensils’.
Maharashtra and Gujarat were carved out of then-Bombay State in 1960.
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‘They want to loot & auction Mumbai’
For the Thackeray brothers and their embattled parties, toiling with the question of political relevance, the situation isn’t all that different now.
“Today’s BJP was never part of the Independence movement or the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. They do not subscribe to the idea of a unified Maharashtra. Their idea is that they should get their share in Mumbai’s loot and their idea is to auction Mumbai,” an editorial in Saamana, the mouthpiece of Uddhav-led Shiv Sena, claimed.
The editorial alleged that to disrupt what remains of Mumbai’s Marathi population, the establishment has empowered developers who aren’t from the state.
“The entire golden area around Mumbai has been purchased by the businessmen of Gujarat. They have taken lands at Panvel, Thane, Palghar, Dahanu, and Raigad right up to Alibag with the help of ‘Shah’. The BJP is facilitating it. The future of Mumbai and the Marathi manus is not safe in the hands of such wolves,” the editorial said.
Bala Nandgaonkar, a senior MNS leader and close confidant of Raj Thackeray, echoed this sentiment Thursday in an Instagram post. He too called the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election a fight for the “existence of the Marathi manus”.
“Please do not stay complacent, wake up and wake others up as well. Keep your differences aside and defeat the outsiders who are encroaching our Mumbai,” Nandgaonkar wrote.
The BMC election, to be held in on 15 January 2026, is particularly significant for both the Thackerays after their parties’ dismal performance in last year’s assembly polls. The Uddhav-led Shiv Sena—which split in 2022 after Eknath Shinde formed a faction and allied with the BJP—won just 20 of 288 seats, half of them from Mumbai. And MNS drew a blank.
An undivided Shiv Sena controlled the BMC, considered the party’s power centre, for 25 years till 2022 when the term of the general body lapsed. Polls to the civic body have been pending since then.
‘BJP was never part of Samyukta Maharashtra movement’
Mumbai’s Marathi population, particularly those who lived through the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, often recall how 107 people lost their lives for Mumbai to be part of Maharashtra—a sacrifice commemorated at Hutatma Chowk in the city.
The Saamana editorial suggested an entire generation has forgotten this sacrifice. “One can see the Marathi manus being left behind in Mumbai and Maharashtra being left behind in the country. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement took shape to carve out a separate Maharashtra, including Mumbai. The wealthy outsiders of Mumbai and the ‘shethjis’ conspired to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra,” the editorial said.
The editorial also alleged that the “Shah company” harbours an old dream of making Mumbai part of Gujarat, and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray was the one who’d stood in their way.
“So they divided the Shiv Sena, destroyed his ideology and created people like Mindhe. They attempted to weaken the fist of the Marathi manus in Mumbai,” the editorial said.
‘Mindhe’ is the term Uddhav faction leaders use for Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. In Marathi, the word means someone who is repressed with obligations.
‘Alliance not a business arrangement’
While announcing the tie-up, the Thackerays stopped short of revealing a seat-sharing formula. BMC has 227 wards. Raj Thackeray said the allies did not intend to announce it yet as there were “gangs in politics that are stealing workers”— a veiled reference to the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena, both accused of poaching party workers.
The two parties also framed this decision as evidence that the alliance transcends power-sharing considerations.
“The alliance is not for how many seats, which seats. It is to rout the powers that are trying to wipe out the existence of the Marathi person from not just Mumbai and its surrounding areas, but from Maharashtra,” Raj said in a post on X Wednesday.
Similarly, the Saamana editorial said the alliance was “not a business deal”.
“It is not about more or less seats, it is not a market. The Thackeray brothers have come together for the protection of Mumbai and are willing to make any sacrifices required for it,” it added.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “They (Thackeray brothers) play on emotions when elections come. They are the ones who have been responsible for driving out the Marathi population out of Mumbai and attacking the non-Marathi population. If anyone thinks their alliance will have any impact, it is childish.”
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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