Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was formed for the Maharashtra assembly elections only, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, suggesting that his party may not go as a part of this alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other local body polls that are likely to be held post-monsoon.
The Sena UBT is looking to form an alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), he said.
“Looking at the rally on 5th of July (a joint rally of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray), it is people’s wish that both brothers should come together. I get a lot of questions about the future of MVA, especially after the rally. To this I say that there is public pressure to form an alliance with Raj Thackeray,” Raut said in a press conference Thursday.
“So now what will happen to MVA, I get asked. My answer is simple, INDIA bloc was formed for Lok Sabha. So in matters related to national issues and Parliament, we are together as INDIA bloc. MVA was formed for the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. We fought together and even today we are together. There is no question of stepping out of MVA or disintegrating MVA,” Raut added
However, he further said, for local body polls, equations differ. Sometimes looking at local conditions alliances are formed or elections are fought separately.
“About MNS though there is public pressure, we will take a call when we have to. There is no hurry,” Raut said to the media.
The statements have made Aghadi allies, NCP(Sharad Pawar) and Congress, cautious.
NCP(SP) chief spokesperson and MLA Jitendra Awhad said that there is no point in speaking out of turn. “The enemy is bigger. We have an ideological fight with them. So I would suggest it is better to stick together and fight them rather than going separately. Whereas Raut’s statements are concerned, he speaks a lot of things. We can too. But it is better if chief leaders sit down and decide what needs to be done.”
Congress, on the other hand, which remained absent at the victory rally of Raj and Uddhav Thackeray is seemingly looking at options to go solo.
“There are two thoughts within the party. One wants to go with the MVA while the other thinks it is better to go solo especially in Mumbai since Congress has its own votebank. And if we go with Sena UBT, it is not getting us good dividends,” a senior leader told ThePrint.
“But let’s wait and watch. First let the alliance of UBT with MNS happen. If and when that happens, we will take a call. No point in talking about these things right now when elections are not even declared.”
While the Congress has not taken a call yet, its Maharashtra president Harshwardhan Sapkal had told ThePrint that the leadership has decided to keep the final decision of alliance or going solo with the local unit.
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Why BMC polls matter
The BMC polls will be the first major electoral test for both the ruling and the opposition allies after the Maharashtra elections in November last year. The ruling National Democratic Alliance secured a thumping win and the BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats.
Unlike the general elections, state and local polls are contested over granular issues such as poor road conditions, clogged sewage connections, or contaminated water. There have been instances of allies going solo in these elections. In 2012, despite being in power in Maharashtra, the NCP and the Congress went separate for Bhinwandi corporation with the NCP siding with the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.
Five years on, the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena fought the BMC polls separately despite being in alliance.
Cut back to 2025, the issue of Marathi language and Hindi imposition is growing strong in Maharashtra. And to politically capture the space, the Thackeray cousins decided to join hands after nearly two decades.
On 5 July, they held a victory rally, which saw massive response of Marathi manoos. Marathi and sons of soil has been a Shiv Sena agenda since its formation by Bal Thackeray in 1966. After the success of the victory rally, the Sena UBT has clearly kept its doors open for Raj Thackeray, however, the MNS chief has not yet cleared his stand.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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