Will not allow split in Marathi vote, vows Uddhav

Stopping short of announcing a formal alliance with the MNS for the civic elections, Uddhav said, “Raj Thackeray and I already came together on July 5 and will remain together to protect Marathi and Mumbai when it’s being attacked.”

MUMBAI: Sounding the bugle for local body elections at his party’s Dussehra rally on Thursday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said he will stick with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray to avoid splitting the strength of the Marathi manoos and to prevent Mumbai from “slipping into the pockets of traders”.

Mumbai, India, October 02, 2025: Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), addressed party workers during the Dussehra Rally at Shivaji Park, Dadar in Mumbai, India.Oct 02, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

Thackeray came down heavily on prime minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying the BJP has ignored governance and is busy fomenting Hindu-Muslim trouble. He also slammed Modi, saying, “PM Modi is a shameless person who compared India-Pakistan war with India-Pakistan cricket match.”

Thousands of supporters braved the rain to attend the rally at Shivaji Park, a Dussehra tradition followed since the Shiv Sena was launched by Bal Thackeray in 1966. Sainiks have since attended the annual rally helmed by party chief Uddhav Thackeray, in large numbers (even though the Sena split in 2022), as it spells out the party’s stand on various issues and sets the political agenda for the future.

Stopping short of announcing a formal alliance with the MNS for the civic elections, Uddhav said, “Raj Thackeray and I already came together on July 5 and will remain together to protect Marathi and Mumbai when it’s being attacked. To keep Marathi power intact, we will remain together. BJP is a Marathi and Maharashtra hater. We will not let Mumbai go into the pockets of traders and will protect Marathi and Mumbai,” said Uddhav.

He criticised Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam, without naming him, for his statement that one day, “some Khan” will become mayor of Mumbai. “Since elections are round the corner, they (BJP) have started spreading hatred in the name of religion and spreading a narrative that some Khan will become mayor. But let me tell you, if the BJP comes to power in the BMC, it will gift all of Mumbai to Adani,” said Thackeray.

Reacting to Thackeray later, Satam said the empty chairs at the Dussehra rally showed that “people and MLAs have left him (Thackeray)” just as he “left Hindutva”. “He should tell people how he managed to get into the list of popular CMs. Now there would be discussion about the corruption of his party in BMC and how he left Hindutva,” Satam said later.

At the rally, Thackeray slammed Mahayuti alliance partners, BJP and the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. “They looted BMC and spent thousands of crores even from fixed deposits. We will expose all this through a white paper on BMC’s financial condition,” vowed Thackeray.

He said the BJP was only interested in celebrating cuts in GST. “But what about the loot of lakhs of crores of rupees collected by imposing the GST tax? The late Pandit Nehru did not bring in GST and Modi did in the wrong way,” he alleged.

Thackeray also said, “They (BJP) have nothing to do with governance. PM Modi did not visit Manipur when it burned for three years. CM Fadnavis, on the other hand, has failed in governance and has no control over his corrupt ministers. All he can do is warn them.”