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Thackeray cousins reunite, announce alliance ahead of crucial Mumbai civic polls
Uddhav Thackeray's faction of Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will be contesting the upcoming January 15 civic polls together.
Once estranged, cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have joined hands for the upcoming civic body polls in Mumbai and have vowed to stay “permanently together”. The much-anticipated announcement came at an event in Mumbai on Wednesday, months after their big show of unity back in July when the brothers shared stage for the first time in nearly two decades.
Uddhav Thackeray's faction of Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will be contesting the upcoming January 15 civic elections together.
"Maharashtra was waiting for this day for a long time. I declare today that Shiv Sena and MNS are united," Raj Thackeray said in Marathi, amid cheers from the public. Talking about the alliance, Raj Thackeray said he would always keep the interests of Maharashtra above everything else.
Raj Thackeray also vowed that the mayor of Mumbai would be a Marathi person and one from either his or cousin Uddhav's party. Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray said: “Marathi people normally don't trouble others but if some one crosses their path they are not spared."
Uddhav also urged the Marathi community to stay united, alleging that the BJP earlier made attempts to sow discord within the community.
"During the assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party engaged in negative campaigning. With the slogan 'If we divide, we will be cut,' an attempt was made to sow discord among the Marathi people. Now, if a mistake has been made, its consequences will be serious. If division happens again, we will be finished. Therefore, the Marathi people should not break, should not divide," Thackeray was quoted as saying by ANI.
While the cousins have announced the alliance, the suspense on seat distribution for elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra continues.
Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is a key part of the upcoming polls. It was earlier reported that there were some disagreements between Raj and Uddhav's parties over seat allocation in the Dadar, Mahim, Borivali, Vikhroli, Bhandup, and Sewri areas of Mumbai. During the announcement of the alliance with MNS, Uddhav Thackeray also said that talks were underway with NCP (SP).
Apart from Mumbai, focus would also remain on Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Nashik in the civic polls in Maharashtra.
In July this year, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray decided to keep their differences aside and came together, ending a political rivalry of 20 years. The brothers found a common ground in their parties' Marathi pride roots and reunited against what they had called “Hindi imposition” in the state.
The July rally in Mumbai's Worli was announced by the brothers as a celebration of the Maharashtra government's move to scrap the decision to introduce Hindi as the third language in schools from class 1.
The cousins became political rivals after Raj Thackeray quit the undivided Shiv Sena in January 2006, and later started his own party MNS. Raj is the nephew of Shiv Sena founder and Uddhav's father Bal Thackeray.
(With inputs from HT correspondent)
