Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray Unite, Posing New Challenge to BJP in Maharashtra
Mumbai, July 5, 2025:
In a dramatic political turn that could reshape Maharashtra’s electoral landscape, Uddhav Thackeray, leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), shared a public platform on Saturday, signaling an unprecedented reconciliation and possible alliance.
The event, held at Shivaji Park before a charged crowd of supporters from both parties, marks the first time the two Thackeray cousins have appeared together since Raj broke away from Shiv Sena in 2006 to form the MNS. Their reunion has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s political circles, particularly unsettling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has relied on splitting opposition ranks to maintain its grip on the state.
The Thackeray cousins’ move is being seen as a calculated response to the BJP’s earlier strategy of engineering defections and divisions within both the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to cobble together a ruling coalition. With Maharashtra set to head into assembly elections later this year, the show of unity is expected to bolster the opposition camp and galvanize voters disenchanted with the ruling alliance.
Political analysts note that the Thackeray family continues to wield considerable cultural and emotional appeal across Maharashtra, rooted in the legacy of the late Bal Thackeray. A united Thackeray front could consolidate Marathi manoos sentiment and mobilize support across urban and rural constituencies, significantly complicating the BJP’s electoral math.
The BJP, which has long capitalized on fissures among its opponents, now faces the prospect of a more cohesive and energized opposition. Party insiders, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the Thackeray reconciliation was unexpected and would require recalibrating their strategy in key battleground districts.
As Maharashtra braces for what promises to be one of its most fiercely contested elections in recent memory, all eyes are now on whether the Thackerays formalize their alliance and how other opposition parties — including Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP and the Congress — position themselves in this shifting political landscape.
The coming months will reveal whether this new unity is enough to dethrone the BJP-led coalition or whether internal contradictions and old rivalries resurface to weaken the opposition once again.
