The long-speculated political reunion of Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray is set to be formally announced on Friday, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut confirming that the alliance will go ahead without the Congress in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Speaking to reporters, Raut said the official announcement of the Sena (UBT)–Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance will be made at noon tomorrow. He also made it clear that talks with Congress have ended.
“There will be no further discussion with the Congress,” Raut said, less than 24 hours after a telephonic conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
He added that while the Sena (UBT) would avoid hostility towards the Congress during the election, it would not contest the BMC polls together. “Post-election, if required, we will take the support of the Congress. But I am confident that both brothers together will cross 100 seats in the BMC,” he said.
Soon after Raut’s statement, the Congress confirmed it would not continue its alliance with the Sena (UBT) if Raj Thackeray’s MNS is part of the arrangement.
“It is wrong to say that Raj Thackeray is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi,” said Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant. “In the BMC elections, the ideologies of our parties have diverged, and we will move forward while maintaining these differences.”
Sawant reiterated the party’s ideological opposition to the MNS. “We have always kept our distance from those who create controversies based on language and religion, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
He also indicated that Congress is exploring alternative alliances. “The NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) approached us today with a proposal to contest the elections together. It will take a few days for clarity on which parties we will align with,” Sawant said.
Earlier attempts to have the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) contest the civic elections as a united front ran into trouble due to Congress’s resistance to including the MNS. Despite Sena (UBT)’s push for a collective fight against the BJP, the Mumbai Congress had already announced plans to contest the BMC polls independently.
Uddhav Thackeray’s move marks a significant political shift. Following the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena and the rise of the BJP–Eknath Shinde alliance, few expected a reconciliation with Raj Thackeray, from whom he has been estranged since 2005.
The MNS is expected to help the Sena (UBT) regain sections of the right-wing Marathi vote base it lost after aligning with the Congress, while the Congress was seen as crucial for retaining minority support. However, ideological differences over the MNS have now led to a clear break in the alliance for the BMC elections.