In a joint rally in Mumbai, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray raised alarms about a potential Gujarati takeover of the city, accusing the BJP of using money and land to undermine Marathi identity. This comes days before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections on January 15, 2026. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the claims as a fake narrative.
The Thackeray brothers, Raj of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Uddhav of Shiv Sena (UBT), held their first joint rally in Mumbai in nearly two decades on Sunday night at Shivaji Park. Raj Thackeray warned, “The plan was always to snatch Mumbai from Maharashtra and attach it to Gujarat. And to do it, they are using money, buying land, settling people here and electing their representatives … Grabbing the land is a long-term plan … Land and language are your identity. Once it is gone, your identity is over.” Uddhav Thackeray, in an interview to The Indian Express last week, linked the concern to post-2012 BJP actions: “After Balasaheb passed away in 2012, the BJP’s top leadership, largely Gujarati, wanted to stake a claim on Mumbai.” He clarified that long-settled Gujaratis in the city are not involved.
The Shiv Sena has historically used outsider threats to mobilize Marathi anxieties, a tactic rooted in the 1950s Samyukta Maharashtra movement that secured Bombay for Maharashtra on May 1, 1960, after opposition from the Gujarati-dominated Bombay Citizens Committee. In 1985, similar rhetoric helped the Sena win 74 of 139 BMC seats.
On Monday, at a Mahayuti rally with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis countered: “The threat to Mumbai is a fake narrative created by the Thackeray brothers... In Mumbai, there is no such divide based on communities.” He promised a Marathi mayor and highlighted economic growth, noting Adani Group's 680% expansion among others, with permissions granted under Uddhav's earlier regime. State BJP president Ravindra Chavan pointed to BJP's acceptance across communities, while MLA Parag Alavani questioned the divide's absence during past alliances. Sena leader Harshal Pradhan reiterated objections to BJP leaders like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah exploiting Mumbai via industrialists.
Shinde added that the Thackerays recall Marathi Manoos only during elections, emphasizing Mahayuti's development focus to fulfill Bal Thackeray's vision.
