Parivar, party, and the quest for power

On July 6, 2025, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena main Raj Thackeray got beforehand leafage abstraction in Saamana, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece. Showing the 2 cousins Uddhav and Raj arm-in-arm, the strap supra the masthead of the broadsheet blared, “Historic! Joy successful full Maharashtra!”

The beforehand leafage was dedicated to stories of the amusement of unity by the cousins, their entreaty to Marathi people, and however the reunification is slated to interaction the State. “We person travel unneurotic to enactment together!”, “Thackerays person stood for parent Marathi!” said the headlines. At the time, they had not formally announced their coming together.

The erstwhile day, the duo had met astatine the Worli Dome, a theatre-in-the-round, erstwhile they decided to people the time arsenic Marathi Vijay Diwas, to commemorate the Maharashtra government’s withdrawal of the three-language argumentation successful superior education, which would person forced children to larn Hindi.

Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, and communal person of the Thackerays, who played a important relation successful bringing them backmost together, says, “It was a infinitesimal the Marathi manoos (people) had been waiting for. ‘The Thackerays should unite for Marathi, for Mumbai, for Maharashtra,’ is the sentiment among respective Marathi households. That imagination has been fulfilled.” He called it an affectional infinitesimal successful a break-up from 2 decades ago.

On Christmas Eve 2025, the cousins announced an electoral confederation betwixt the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the January 15 municipal corp elections. While these are to beryllium fought successful 29 cities, the cousins person chiefly joined hands for Mumbai, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and Nashik, successful what is being seen arsenic a conflict for survival.

At the property briefing to denote their governmental alliance, the household turned up. Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray and Sharmila Raj Thackeray sat adjacent to each other, connected chairs adjacent to the stage.

Raut stood betwixt Uddhav and a somewhat stiff Raj, earlier the duo posed for photographs together. At the venue was an enlarged photograph of the 2 cousins with Balasaheb sitting successful the centre and holding them arsenic adults. Soon, enactment leaders jumped connected to signifier to manus implicit bouquets and felicitate them.

The household saga spanning 3 generations has each the masala of a Bollywood blockbuster: household drama, precocious emotion, suspense, distrust, and action. Based successful Mumbai, the crippled starts successful erstwhile Bombay 60 years agone with the enactment of a governmental enactment and a larger-than-life ideologue. The charismatic Balasaheb Thackeray, who built the Shiv Sena successful 1966, connected a ‘sons of the soil’ plank, had Bombay renamed to Mumbai, aft the goddess Mumbadevi.

Sharing and compromise

On December 24, the duo invoked the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, mounting the signifier for their associated governmental docket of determination linguistic individuality and the alleged menace to this individuality by ‘outsiders’. They talked of however these powers wanted to interruption Mumbai distant from Maharashtra. The publication was akin to Balasaheb’s entreaty during the enactment of Shiv Sena amid what helium pushed arsenic the increasing menace of livelihood and taste individuality nonaccomplishment for Maharashtrians. The Marathi manoos plank unites radical connected linguistics alternatively than religion.

However, wherever Balasaheb had targeted radical from southbound India and Gujaratis, Mumbai’s changing demographics, with respective migrants from northbound India are the existent ‘outsiders’. Rough estimates by governmental parties person enactment Mumbai’s Marathi-speaking colonisation astatine implicit 30%, successful tandem with the 2011 Census.

“The archetypal ideology for the enactment of the Shiv Sena itself was the Marathi manoos. Yes, thereafter Balasaheb took the stance of Hindutva, different things happened. But the Thackerays ever had the Marathi manoos astatine heart,” says Raut. Uddhav’s and Raj’s gramps ‘Prabodhankar’ Thackeray, was salient successful the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, which yet led to Mumbai going to Maharashtra successful 1960.

The cousins did not tract galore questions astir the confederation for the January 15 section assemblage elections. “Who volition combat connected however galore seats, we volition not archer you,” Raj said, to a packed hallway of journalists astatine a edifice connected the Worli promenade. The assemblage cracked up.

Of peculiar value to the Shiv Sena (UBT) is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election. Traditionally, the Thackerays person controlled the BMC, the country’s richest civic body. Things changed successful 2017, erstwhile the BJP got conscionable 2 seats little than the Shiv Sena. The polls to BMC person been pending since 2022.

Sources accidental that successful the BMC elections, Uddhav’s enactment would contention 163 seats, Raj’s connected 53, of the 227 seats. Sharad Pawar’s NCP, that has been with Uddhav, is besides successful connected the seat-sharing, with 11. “They had wanted a respectable spot share. Our presumption is besides challenging arsenic we person sitting corporators astatine respective of these places. But Uddhavji has decided that helium volition adjust,” says a person from the Shiv Sena (UBT).

“Raj saheb has told the enactment cadres, they should not agelong things. We are consenting to compromise,” an MNS person says. A full of 2,869 corporators volition beryllium elected successful these polls, the results of which volition beryllium declared connected January 16.

Reunion oregon reunification? 

The break-up years

Raj was seen to person inherited the aura and the oratory entreaty of Balasaheb, his uncle. Uddhav, Balasaheb’s son, was known arsenic the quiescent organisation antheral who built subject successful the party. In 2003, Raj had supported Uddhav’s sanction arsenic the party’s moving president successful Mahabaleshwar, contempt increasing hostility betwixt the cousins. This was a twelvemonth aft Balasaheb had named Uddhav arsenic the enforcement president.

In 2005, Raj near the Shiv Sena aft an acrimonious nationalist fallout, erstwhile helium called a property league to denote his resignation, saying successful an emotionally wrought voice, “All I asked for was respect…. All I got was insult and humiliation.”

He added, “I don’t person complaints against my Vitthal. I person problems with the coterie which wants to power everything,” with a notation to Balasaheb, who was called Vithhal by those adjacent to him. Violence followed, arsenic cadres felt torn betwixt the 2 cousins. Famously, erstwhile now-peace-broker Raut had tried to person Raj against exiting the Shiv Sena, aggravated supporters of Raj had vandalised and toppled Raut’s car.

Most of the aged leaders had stayed with Balasaheb and Uddhav, and a fistful went with Raj. The sentiment among the supporters of Raj was that helium was being wronged and denied his due, and that helium was Balasaheb’s rightful governmental heir. Uddhav’s supporters said helium was gathering organisational strength. At that time, respective apical BJP leaders excessively tried to intervene to halt the cousins from parting ways. It did not work.

The pursuing year, Raj founded the Navnirman Sena. In 2014, aft a fallout betwixt the Shiv Sena and the BJP, determination were murmurs again, but Raj had past blamed Uddhav for failing to respond.

In 2022, Eknath Shinde, a grassroots organiser, divided from Uddhav, taking 40 MLAs to signifier the authorities with the BJP.

Uddhav and Raj person often traded barbs implicit the benignant of functioning, enactment qualities, and ideological strength. Uddhav believed that Raj had helped the BJP by cutting the votes of the Shiv Sena. “First, they stole the photograph of Bal Thackeray…. Today they are trying to bargain different Thackeray. Take it, I and my radical are enough,” helium had said, successful 2024. Raj called Uddhav an “accidental Chief Minister”.

Blood, and h2o nether the bridge

From the archetypal 4th of 2025 though, thing changed. They said successful abstracted nationalist appearances that they were consenting to enactment their problems speech ‘in the involvement of Maharashtra’. With a BJP conjugation present successful powerfulness successful Maharashtra, the connection came amid dwindling governmental fortunes for both.

In the State Legislative Assembly elections held successful 2024, the Shiv Sena (UBT), which fielded candidates successful implicit 90 seats, won 20, little than 10% per cent of 288, the spot of the little house. In the Lok Sabha elections held the aforesaid twelvemonth however, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won 9 of the 21 seats it had fielded its candidates on. There are 48 seats for Maharashtra successful Parliament.

The MNS has had accordant legislative losses, barring the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections, which were the archetypal State elections for the enactment since its formation. From 13 MLAs then, the enactment has nary practice successful the Assembly. It had conscionable 1 MLA successful the 2014 and 2019 elections. The MNS has nary practice successful Parliament either.

“When determination is an outer threat, the household unites. This is the contented of Maharashtra. Here, the household has agreed politically arsenic well,” Shiv Sena (UBT) person Anil Parab says. “The cousins person antithetic qualities. Raj’s oratory is charismatic. For a governmental enactment to flourish, it has to beryllium disciplined, its organisational spot has to beryllium increased. Uddhav does that well,” adds Parab.

“Blood is thicker than water. Ultimately, it is the household which stands with each other. We person nary qualms against Raj saheb anymore,” a Shiv Sena (UBT) enactment idiosyncratic from Sion, says. He recounts however helium had participated successful the unit extracurricular Shiv Sena Bhavan successful 2006, betwixt the supporters of the 2 leaders.

Another person highlights the clasp of the household connected the conservative, regional, and dynastic governmental scenery of Maharashtra. Both parties person truthful acold fought for the aforesaid ballot bank, confronting each different successful the aforesaid Marathi-strong pockets.

Gen next

In the archetypal 2 phases of metropolis section assemblage elections past month, the Shiv Sena UBT got presidents elected connected 9 of the 288 municipal councils and Nagar panchayats. “We don’t springiness value to the elections fought with specified wealth power. We had near these polls to our section cadres, who could not withstand the misuse of wealth and might. Over ₹100 crore was spent by the ruling parties here. Where were we expected to get this wealth from?” says Raut.

On the past time 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 associated store for imaginable corporators. Their main run transportation is to beryllium ₹1,500 monthly assistance for registered women home workers. They besides announced enactment for the women of the Koli sportfishing assemblage and alleviation connected spot tax.

The pursuing day, 68 candidates successful the Maharashtra civic polls from the Mahayuti confederation — the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) — are unopposed. This has agreed the opposition, including the cousins. Now, some Shiv Sena factions and the MNS are warring for the aforesaid pie.

vinaya.deshpande@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Sunalini Mathew