The embittered cousins – Uddhav Thackeray and Raj- shared the dais in Worli’s NSCI Dome on Saturday holding hands throwing a hint of new political equations in the state.
In the 20 years since Raj quit Shiv Sena and formed his new party, Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena, a lot has happened in Maharashtra’s politics.
The mild-mannered Uddhav, handpicked by the late Balasaheb Thackeray himself, became the first Thackeray to sit on the chief minister’s chair, joining hands with traditional foes, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
While Uddhav climbed the political heights and was pulled down, Raj remained in the wilderness. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Raj’s campaign against Narendra Modi and the BJP with video lahva rey (Bring on the video) failed to cut much ice with the Maharashtra voters.
The same year Uddhav had a falling out with the BJP – the undivided Shiv Sena along with the Akali Dal was the oldest allies of the BJP during the Vajpayee-Advani days.
Uddhav was quick to latch on to the olive branch extended by the Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar and became the chief minister with Congress support.
The Mahavikas Agadhi government lasted till political maneuvering split Bal Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. Uddhav not only lost the chief minister’s chair, but also the party name and symbol.
In last year’s Lok Sabha polls, Uddhav solidly stood with the MVA partners Congress and the NCP. His cousin Raj, keen to get back into the political limelight, was seen sharing the dais with Narendra Modi at an election rally in Mumbai.
“Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis managed to do what Balasaheb Thackeray could not – bring myself and Uddhav together,” Raj said from the dais at the NSCI dome, where only two chairs were kept. One for Raj and the other for Uddhav.
Uddhav echoed his cousin: “We have come together to stay together… I want to tell you that us coming together is just a trailer. This is just the beginning.”
The former Maharashtra chief minister’s comment puts a question mark on the future of the Mahavikas Agadhi, and also the role that Uddhav’s party will play in the opposition INDIA bloc.
In Maharashtra, the BJP under chief minister Devendra Fadnavis since 2024 November is exactly where it was a decade ago. The party no longer needs to hold on to the crutches of Shiv Sena and NCP, and the opposition is in disarray after the Assembly elections debacle.
The biggest catch for the BJP will be the elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest civic body in the country.
While they were partners, the undivided Shiv Sena and the BJP had a dispute over the control of BMC. The Shiv Sena was happy to let the BJP run Maharashtra, while Mumbai remained under its watch.
The BMC elections have been on hold since March 2022. The Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government was not confident about holding polls, over the manner in which the MVA government was dislodged.
Instead, the Maharashtra government decided on a fund allocation system, which the opposition says, bypassed them and went only to those with the ruling alliance.
Fadnavis, though not in the same position as his predecessor Shinde, is keeping in mind the fact that the MVA won six out of the 10 seats in Mumbai city, and another eight in suburban Mumbai.
The Fadnavis government’s decision to include Hindi as a third language and the subsequent rollback, provided the Thackeray cousins the perfect plank to fall back on the trusted Marathi Manoos campaign.
While no formal alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS has been announced yet, Uddhav declared he and Raj will win the BMC polls.
“Hindu and Hindustan are acceptable, but Hindi imposition will not be tolerated. Let your seven generations come down, but we won’t let it happen,” Raj said at Saturday's victory rally ‘Awaj Marathicha’ which was held without any party flag or banners.
Both the parties of Uddhav and Raj, instead of claiming the success for the Fadnavis government rollback of an order that had introduced Hindi as a third language in primary schools from classes I to V, decided to claim it as a victory of Marathi Manoos and the city of Mumbai.
The belligerent MNS workers, infamous for their violent ways, have already been slapping and terrorising small traders from outside the state for not learning Marathi.
The Congress and the NCP (SP) both kept themselves away from the Thackeray event. The Maharashtra Congress has also indicated that they would prefer to contest the BMC polls on its own, rather than playing third fiddle in the MVA.
For both Fadnavis and the Thackeray cousins, the battle for Mumbai is a prestigious one.
What shape the Uddhav and Raj’s alliance takes is yet to be revealed. One bone of contention would be Uddhav’s steadfast opposition to industrialist Gautam Adani, whom Raj met barely a few days ago.