As polls for Maharashtra local bodies approach, Raj Thackeray goes back to basics

Mumbai: After two decades of a roller-coaster ride in Maharashtra politics, Raj Thackeray has gone back to basics.

For the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which competed 19 years on March 9, 2025, the 56-year-old charismatic Raj is undertaking major organisational changes and has sent out a clear message—he is still for the cause of Marathi-manoos and Hindutva.

With civic elections to all 29 Maharashtra municipal corporations pending, including those of big cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Amravati, the MNS stands a chance of revival.

This is for the first time since the foundation of MNS that the party does not have an MLA in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Besides, Raj’s son Amit Thackeray too lost the elections from the Mahim seat of Mumbai.

In the current political firmament, Raj, the nephew of late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, is seen close to the BJP.

Coinciding with the Gudi Padwa festivities on March 30, Raj sent out a clear message - Marathi language has to be respected and nationalised banks too must use Marathi.

“In our Mumbai, they tell us that they cannot speak Marathi… they will get a slap on the face… Every state has its language and it must be respected. In Mumbai, Marathi should be respected,” he had said.

During the course of one week (March 31-April 5), MNS workers went on an aggressive mode - slapped a security guard at a bank, and roughed up bank employees for not using Marathi, other government establishments and even department stores.

Reacting to the development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that no one will be allowed to disturb the law and order situation. “It is not wrong to insist on the use of Marathi language. But if while doing so, law is taken into hands (by someone), then it will not be tolerated and the persons concerned will be dealt with appropriately,” he said on Friday.

State Industries Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant met Raj on Saturday. “Just as we respect other languages, Marathi too must be respected,” Samant said, pointing out that the government and Raj are of the same view.

On Saturday evening, Raj urged MNS workers to “halt” the campaign as it has raised “sufficient awareness”. "Halt the agitation for the time being but do not let focus go away from it. I urge the government to see that the law is followed. Wherever the law is not followed, wherever Marathi manoos are taken for granted or face insult, the MNS will go for discussion with them," Raj said.

The biggest question in Maharashtra's political circles now is what would be Raj's strategy in the civic bodies' elections including that of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which had been under the control of undivided Shiv Sena for close to a quarter of a century. For BJP, having split the Balasaheb Thackeray-founded party to Shiv Sena controlled by Eknath Shinde and the other Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT), it is now working on to have its next Mayor in Mumbai - a post that had eluded the saffron national party.

MNS' journey

Proposing his cousin Uddhav Thackeray’s name for Shiv Sena Presidentship in 2003 at the famous Mahabaleshwar conclave to coming out of the Shiv Sena fold in 2005 and founding MNS on March 9, 2006 was not an easy task for Raj Thackeray.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, though MNS did not win any seats, it damaged the prospects of the Sena-BJP saffron alliance in Mumbai—and in the Vidhan Sabha polls won 11 of the 288 seats and damaged the prospects of Sena and BJP in urban pockets.

In 2014, the MNS could not win a single seat in the Lok Sabha polls but managed to win just one seat in the Assembly.

In 2019, Raj’s party did not contest the Lok Sabha polls but addressed a dozen rallies targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his aide Amit Shah - and became close to NCP-Congress. However, in the Vidhan Sabha, his party could win only one seat.

The year 2019 was a turning point when Shiv Sena broke away from BJP and joined hands with Congress-NCP to launch Maha Vikas Aghadi and the government was toppled in June 2022 by Eknath Shinde with the help of BJP. A year later in June 2023, Ajit Pawar raised a banner of revolt against his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar and joined the NDA.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP reached out to Raj and he met Shah in New Delhi. He decided not to contest the polls but extended support to Modi, thus helping out the Maha Yuti.

However, in the 2024 Vidhan Sabha polls, Raj’s MNS went to the polls independent and could not win a single seat.