'Don’t waste Marathi pride': After 20 years, Uddhav & Raj Thackeray reunite ahead of BMC polls

MUMBAI: After several rounds of talks, meetings, family gatherings and cultural exchanges, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS announced a formal alliance for the BMC and other Municipal Corporation polls including Nashik on Wednesday. The two Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj addressed a joint press conference to make the announcement in Worli.

Both Uddhav and Raj struck an emotional chord. Uddhav said to the Marathi people that ‘If you get divided or make any mistake now, you will be completely finished.’ Uddhav said the two of them have come together as their duty towards Maharashtra. Raj said Maharashtra is bigger than any dispute or fight and that is why they have come together.


However no seat sharing formula was shared and Raj said that the list of candidates or seat sharing formula won’t be declared and candidates will directly be told to file their nominations.

Raj said that there were gangs operating in Maharashtra that kidnap children and two new gangs are are kidnapping children of political parties. Raj said that the Mayor of Mumbai will be Marathi and he would be from the Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance. Before the announcements, both Uddhav and Raj, with their families, paid homage at the Bal Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park.

Aaditya Thackeray, Rashmi Thackeray, Amit Thackeray, and Sharmila Thackeray were also present. Before the announcement, Uddhav visited Raj’s Dadar home where the two cousins were given a symbolic blessing and Aarti by Raj’s mother Kunda Thackeray. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut was present on the dais with Raj and Uddhav.

"I am advising all Marathi people. If you make a mistake now, you will be finished. If you get divided now, you will be completely destroyed.. So don't get divided, don’t split, don’t waste the Marathi pride. A Marathi person usually doesn't follow anyone's path. But if someone comes in his path, he doesn't let him go back,” Uddhav said.

“Whatever else I want to say, I will say in public meetings. However, I had said in an interview that Maharashtra is bigger than any dispute or fight and that is where we started coming together. We are announcing the alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS, for which Maharashtra has been waiting for for a long time,” Raj said.

Uddhav said, "We have come together as our duty to stay together. Marathi people sacrificed and brought Mumbai into Maharashtra. It is natural to remember this today. Both of our grandfathers, Prabodhankar (Thackeray) were one of the first five generals in the fight for united Maharashtra. My father Balasaheb Thackeray, Raj's father Shrikant Thackeray, that is, the entire Thackeray family was fighting for Mumbai at that time."

He added, "I will not tell you the history after that. But when Maharashtra got Mumbai, outsiders started dancing on the shoulders of Mumbai’s Marathi people and Balasaheb Thackeray had to give birth to Shiv Sena for fair rights. The intervening years passed well. But today, once again, the intentions of the two in Delhi are to break Mumbai's resilience. If we continue to fight now, it will be an insult to the martyrs' memorial in Mumbai. Today, we have come together as our duty and to stay together. From now on, no one will try to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra with a crooked look or deceitful intrigues on Mumbai and Maharashtra. We have taken to the field by taking an oath that those who try to separate Mumbai will not be left without being eliminated in politics,”

Seat-sharing

According to Sena (UBT) functionaries, the proposed seat-sharing formula for the BMC allocates 145 to 150 seats to Sena (UBT), 65 to 70 seats to the MNS, while 10 to 12 seats are to be given to the NCP (SP).

Sena (UBT) has also “left” 12 to 15 seats where it earlier had corporators for the MNS; in a majority of these wards, the former corporators have since joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

However, the alliance has triggered sharp reactions from rival Shiv Sena leaders. Expressing strong disapproval, Shiv Sena leader Raju Waghmare criticised the cousins’ visit to Balasaheb Thackeray’s memorial and accused both leaders of betraying his legacy.

Shiv Sena leader Raju Waghmare said, "Raj and Uddhav Thackeray are going to go to Balasaheb Thackeray's Shivaji Park Smriti Sthal to pay homage to him. Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray, our idol, will never forgive these two brothers because Raj Thackeray betrayed Balasaheb Thackeray and gave him a big scar. Uddhav Thackeray, on the other hand, betrayed Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology. Balasaheb Thackeray will never forgive them; the Marathi people will never forget this. No matter what they do now, it will not help them. When it comes to seat sharing, their party workers are very nervous and angry because they have been fighting against each other for almost the last two decades, and now they have to sacrifice their seats..."

Congress, which has been an ally of the Sena (UBT) at the state level, has not joined the civic poll alliance but sees political significance in the reunion of the Thackeray cousins, claiming it signals cracks within the ruling Mahayuti.

Congress leader Atul Londhe said, "Today's news is that Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar are going to come together. Does this mean that the Mahayuti has suffered a split?"

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations, including the BMC, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16.

Meanwhile, the ruling Mahayuti—comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP—has dominated recent local body elections across 286 municipalities and nagar panchayats. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, congratulating BJP workers, said the results were a “trailer” for the upcoming civic polls.

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