Uddhav And Raj Thackeray Unite To Take On Mahayuti In BMC Polls 2026

BMC Polls 2026: MNS Chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday announced the alliance of Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS ahead of the Municipal Corporation Elections. Together, the alliance is targeting control over approximately 113 wards, 72 Marathi-dominated and 41 Muslim-influenced, out of the BMC’s total 227 seats.

BMC Polls 2026: UBT Sena-MNS alliance is confirmed ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls 2026. MNS Chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday announced the alliance of Shiv Sena (UBT) and his party. This marks the coming together of the cousins ahead of a formal announcement of an alliance for the BMC elections in January.

Together, the alliance is targeting control over approximately 113 wards, 72 Marathi-dominated and 41 Muslim-influenced, out of the BMC’s total 227 seats.

The cousins arrived together at the press conference venue in the same car after paying tribute to Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray at his memorial at Chhatrapati Shivaji Park in Dadar.

Earlier, the Thackeray cousins, accompanied by their wives, paid tribute to party founder Balasaheb Thackeray at his memorial in Shivaji Park here on Wednesday.

Thackeray Brothers Reunion 

For both party workers, it means the end of years of political distance between the two cousins. The cadres hope that after the drubbing in the Panchayat polls, the BMC elections will bring better news for the parties.

Addressing a joint press conference, the two leaders, however, did not specify the list of civic bodies where the alliance would contest nor disclose seat-sharing details for the BMC. Raj Thackeray asserted that the next Mayor of Mumbai would be a “Marathi Manoos” from the alliance.

According to IANS, Uddhav Thackeray said the alliance was forged to protect the identity of Mumbai and Maharashtra. “We have come together to stay together and to foil attempts to divide Mumbai or isolate it from Maharashtra,” he said.

The alliance is widely seen as a strategic bid to counter the BJP-led MahaYuti, particularly in Mumbai, where the Marathi vote has fragmented since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena. 

As per political observers, the reunion is a “make-or-break” move for both parties. The electoral strategy seeks to combine Raj Thackeray’s influence among core Marathi voters, estimated at around 26 per cent of Mumbai’s electorate, with Uddhav Thackeray’s expanded support base, including Muslim-majority pockets, following his more inclusive positioning during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

BMC Polls 2026

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

(with agencies' inputs)