Raj Thackeray's ‘last election’ warning to ‘Marathi manoos’ ahead of BMC polls

Elections to the 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will be held on December 2.

Published on: Nov 24, 2025, 12:32:30 IST

By HT News Desk

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Issuing a stark warning, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said the upcoming Mumbai civic body polls could prove to be the last one for Marathi manoos to safeguard their identity. He made the remarks at the inauguration of the MNS Konkan Mahotsav in Mumbai as he appealed to the party workers to remain vigilant.

File photo of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

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"Do not let your guard down, otherwise the loss is imminent. The upcoming BMC elections will be the last for the Marathi manoos if you don’t remain vigilant. And the consequences would be uncontrollable", the MNS chief was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Thackeray had raised discrepancies in the voters’ list and joined a united march taken out by the Opposition recently.

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Meanwhile, the Maharashtra unit of Congress appeared divided on its alliance with the MNS for the upcoming local body polls. The grand old party's senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar favoured a united contest, while MP Varsha Gaikwad said it was firm on not aligning with the Raj Thackeray-led party in Mumbai.

Wadettiwar referred to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's statement underlining the importance of Opposition unity for defeating the BJP. "Ultimately, ideology matters. We are positive towards a united fight, including with the MNS. Everyone must come together to defeat the BJP," the Congress Legislature Party leader said. He referred to the MNS' participation in the 'Satyacha Morcha' organised by the opposition MVA in Mumbai earlier this month against the alleged discrepancies in the voters' list.

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Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said the party's Mumbai unit will decide on the alliance partners at the local level for municipal corporation polls.

The potential tie-up between Congress and MNS, however, gave the BJP a chance to take a dig at the party saying it was changing its stand as per its own convenience. He, however, suggested that the Congress wouldn't compromise on its ideology for forging alliances. Wadettiwar's open support for MNS flies in the face of the Mumbai Congress unit, which had announced to go solo in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

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Reacting to Wadettiwar's remarks, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad said he spoke about alliances at the state level, while the party's Mumbai unit has already made its stand clear that it will not align with the MNS for the BMC elections. She had earlier said that the Congress will never tie-up with those people who take the law into their hands and intimidate others. Elections to the 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats in the state will be held on December 2, while the civic corporation polls are expected to take place in January 2026.

(With inputs from PTI)

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