Sena versus Sena: Thackerays retain trust of Marathi manoos; Shinde to lesser extent

Ahead of the civic polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray joined forces to retain power over BMC, evidenced by their campaigns across Mumbai. They however failed to win power as they could garner a little over 70 seats, well short of 114 needed for simple majority in the civic house of 227

MUMBAI: In the just-concluded polls to 29 civic bodies in the state, including Mumbai, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was determined to end the Thackerays’ 25-year reign in BMC, the country’s richest civic body. Alongside, another objective was to underscore who would emerge as the real Shiv Sena.

iMumbai, India - January 16, 2026: Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray greets winning candidates from Dharavi area such as T.M. Jagdish, Archana Avirat Shinde, Joseph Koli and their followers, at Thackeray's residence at Bandra east in Mumbai, India, on Friday, January 16, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The results have shown that while the Thackeray cousins managed to retain the party’s Marathi support base in Mumbai, Eknath Shinde remains a competitor to claim the Sena legacy.

According to figures released by the State Election Commission at 10:30 pm, BJP won 1372 seats across 29 civic bodies while Sena came second with 394 seats. The Congress ranked third with 315 seats, while Sena (UBT) trailed with 149 seats.

Ahead of the civic polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray joined forces to retain power over BMC, evidenced by their campaigns across Mumbai. They however failed to win power as they could garner a little over 70 seats, well short of 114 needed for simple majority in the civic house of 227.

The election for Mumbai’s civic body was also a fight between Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde poached from Sena (UBT) to admit 56 former corporators to his party. Thackeray brothers however managed to retain most of the seats from where his former corporators had defected.

In effect, Shinde’s party did suffer some damage -- in Mumbai, Sena (UBT) fought on 163 seats and won over 65 seats while Shinde contested on 91 seats and won 29.

Clearly, Shinde’s good fortune in the parliamentary and assembly polls, did not reflect in Mumbai civic polls. “We did have a poor strike rate in Mumbai which was much less than our surveys conducted earlier,” said senior Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar.

Outside Mumbai, the Thackerays failed to make a mark, except in the Parbhani civic body where the party won in alliance with Congress. The two parties finished with winning single digit seats in civic bodies of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and other cities such as Pune, Nashik and Sambhajinagar. In contrast, Shiv Sena performed better outside Mumbai.

In the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Shinde’s home turf, his party won 75 seats to claim power, while Sena (UBT) could win just one. In Navi Mumbai, the Sena won 43 seats while Sena (UBT) got just two. In Ulhasnagar, Shinde’s party won 36 seats while Sena (UBT) failed to get any seat.

In Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Sena bagged 12 seats while the Thackeray-led party could not win a single seat. Sena also performed well in Kalyan-Dombivli, Jalgaon, Sambhajinagar and Nashik. It was only in Panvel that Sena (UBT) scored over its rival – five compared to Sena’s two.

“We put up a spirited fight. It was a close contest. BJP may win in numbers with misuse of money and power. However, it is clear that the Marathi manoos in Mumbai have shown that they are backing the Thackeray brothers,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, one of the architects of the reunion of Thackeray cousins.

While the cousins have managed to retain much of the traditional Sena strongholds in Mumbai, they are likely to face challenges in the coming days.

The duo, especially Uddhav Thackeray, will have to work hard to keep his flock together, against efforts to poach his MPs, MLAs and newly elected corporators. As the BJP-Sena alliance is now poised to rule BMC, more friction is expected between the two Senas with Shinde making yet another attempt to erode the support base of the Thackeray brothers.

For now, Shinde is comforted in the gain of numbers. “Our party would be number 2 in the state after the BJP,” Shinde said on Friday. Referring to Sena (UBT) he said, “People rejected parties who stopped development and voted for development. In Mumbai, we are a near majority and development is the only brand that people have accepted.” Without naming the party, he pointed to many places in MMR where Sena (UBT) had performed poorly.

Asked if the party would stake claim on any post in Mumbai, Shinde said, “More than positions, we want a better life for Mumbaikars. We want a Mahayuti mayor. In Mumbai, people who stopped projects for 25 years were rejected. They voted for us.”

Sena UBT leader Anil Parab said, “We have won in many places because of the workers. We won because MNS and Sena (UBT) fought collectively. Shinde has lost miserably compared to the number of seats fought by him. BJP also ensured that he was not able to do well. Had they done well in Mumbai, one could have said that he was poised to take over the Thackeray legacy.”