‘Money and might vs Shivshakti': Raj Thackeray's first reaction after Mahayuti storms to power in Mumbai
In a long post on X (formerly Twitter), Thackeray congratulated the elected corporators of the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), describing the contest as an uneven battle.
- Jan 17, 2026,
- Updated Jan 17, 2026 1:43 PM IST
A day after the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance swept to power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray issued his first response to the party’s electoral setback.
In a long post on X (formerly Twitter), Thackeray congratulated the elected corporators of the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), describing the contest as an uneven battle. He said the election was a fight between “unyielding financial power and the might of authority against Shivshakti”.
“Yet even in such a contest, the workers from both sides put up an excellent fight. Their praise cannot be enough,” he wrote. Thackeray added that MNS corporators would hold those in power accountable “if anything seems to go against the Marathi people”.
“Though Maharashtra Navnirman Sena did not achieve the expected success this time, and that brings sorrow, we are not the ones to get disheartened by it. Our elected corporators will more than hold their own against the ruling powers wherever they are,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Thackeray reiterated the party’s core ideological plank. “Our fight is for the Marathi people, the Marathi language, Marathi identity, and for a prosperous Maharashtra. This fight is our very existence. You all know well that such battles are long-term.”
How Raj Thackeray's acerbic tongue ruined Shiv Sena (UBT)'s prospects?
Raj Thackeray’s sharp rhetoric during the campaign appears to have hurt the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s prospects. In the final phase of the BMC election, he revived divisive slogans such as the decades-old ‘uthao lungi, bajao pungi’ jibe, originally coined by Balasaheb Thackeray in the 1960s to target South Indians in Mumbai.
He resurrected the polarising rhetoric against non-Marathis to attack Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai, whilst ruining rasmalaai for everyone.
The Uddhav-Raj combine’s emphasis on identity politics stood in stark contrast to the Mahayuti’s campaign, which focused on development and infrastructure. This contrast appeared to resonate with voters, particularly in South Mumbai and the suburbs, helping the Mahayuti consolidate its gains. The Mahayuti also floated the idea of a Hindu-Marathi mayor, though in a less confrontational tone than the MNS.
With Gen Z voters largely uninterested in divisive politics, issues such as jobs, housing affordability and cultural preservation could have served the MNS better than street-level aggression by party cadres. Marathi-dominated pockets like Dadar and Worli could have been a fertile ground for such an approach.
Founded nearly two decades ago, the MNS has struggled electorally and has nothing to ride home about. The party won zero seats in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, just one seat in the 2017 BMC polls, and retained limited influence in pockets such as Kalyan-Dombivli.
BMC election results 2026
The BJP–Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance secured 118 of the 227 seats, crossing the majority mark of 114. The BJP won 89 seats and the Shiv Sena 29. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-NCP(SP) alliance secured 72 seats. While UBT won 65 seats, the MNS managed six. Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, Ajit Pawar-led NCP three, the Samajwadi Party two, and two independents also emerged victorious.
A day after the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance swept to power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray issued his first response to the party’s electoral setback.
In a long post on X (formerly Twitter), Thackeray congratulated the elected corporators of the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT), describing the contest as an uneven battle. He said the election was a fight between “unyielding financial power and the might of authority against Shivshakti”.
“Yet even in such a contest, the workers from both sides put up an excellent fight. Their praise cannot be enough,” he wrote. Thackeray added that MNS corporators would hold those in power accountable “if anything seems to go against the Marathi people”.
“Though Maharashtra Navnirman Sena did not achieve the expected success this time, and that brings sorrow, we are not the ones to get disheartened by it. Our elected corporators will more than hold their own against the ruling powers wherever they are,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Thackeray reiterated the party’s core ideological plank. “Our fight is for the Marathi people, the Marathi language, Marathi identity, and for a prosperous Maharashtra. This fight is our very existence. You all know well that such battles are long-term.”
How Raj Thackeray's acerbic tongue ruined Shiv Sena (UBT)'s prospects?
Raj Thackeray’s sharp rhetoric during the campaign appears to have hurt the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s prospects. In the final phase of the BMC election, he revived divisive slogans such as the decades-old ‘uthao lungi, bajao pungi’ jibe, originally coined by Balasaheb Thackeray in the 1960s to target South Indians in Mumbai.
He resurrected the polarising rhetoric against non-Marathis to attack Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai, whilst ruining rasmalaai for everyone.
The Uddhav-Raj combine’s emphasis on identity politics stood in stark contrast to the Mahayuti’s campaign, which focused on development and infrastructure. This contrast appeared to resonate with voters, particularly in South Mumbai and the suburbs, helping the Mahayuti consolidate its gains. The Mahayuti also floated the idea of a Hindu-Marathi mayor, though in a less confrontational tone than the MNS.
With Gen Z voters largely uninterested in divisive politics, issues such as jobs, housing affordability and cultural preservation could have served the MNS better than street-level aggression by party cadres. Marathi-dominated pockets like Dadar and Worli could have been a fertile ground for such an approach.
Founded nearly two decades ago, the MNS has struggled electorally and has nothing to ride home about. The party won zero seats in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, just one seat in the 2017 BMC polls, and retained limited influence in pockets such as Kalyan-Dombivli.
BMC election results 2026
The BJP–Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance secured 118 of the 227 seats, crossing the majority mark of 114. The BJP won 89 seats and the Shiv Sena 29. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-NCP(SP) alliance secured 72 seats. While UBT won 65 seats, the MNS managed six. Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, Ajit Pawar-led NCP three, the Samajwadi Party two, and two independents also emerged victorious.