Sign In

Delhi News Daily

  • Home
  • Fashion
  • Business
  • World News
  • Technology
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
Reading: The Maha Picture | Thackeray Brothers’ Unity: Shinde’s Nightmare Or Just Symbolic Fireworks? – Delhi News Daily
Share

Delhi News Daily

Font ResizerAa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Delhi News Daily > Blog > Politics > The Maha Picture | Thackeray Brothers’ Unity: Shinde’s Nightmare Or Just Symbolic Fireworks? – Delhi News Daily
Politics

The Maha Picture | Thackeray Brothers’ Unity: Shinde’s Nightmare Or Just Symbolic Fireworks? – Delhi News Daily

delhinewsdaily
Last updated: July 8, 2025 10:23 am
delhinewsdaily
Share
News18
SHARE


Last Updated:July 08, 2025, 14:07 IST

The biggest hurdle is not whether Uddhav and Raj can pose for photos — it’s whether their parties can stitch a workable seat-sharing formula without burning bridges at grassroots.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray, left, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray during a joint victory rally organised by the cousins, at Worli area, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. (PTI Photo)

MNS chief Raj Thackeray, left, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray during a joint victory rally organised by the cousins, at Worli area, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. (PTI Photo)

The Maha Picture

If there’s one thing that can still electrify Maharashtra’s political ground in an age of shifting loyalties and coalition somersaults, it’s the name “Thackeray.” And this past week, when Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared the same stage at the on 5th of July at ‘celebration’ rally, they did not just pose for pictures — they re-ignited raw Marathi emotion and signalled that an old, unfinished chapter in the state’s politics might be turning a fresh page.

But behind the powerful images and teary-eyed Shiv Sainiks and MNS loyalists lies a harder question: Can the Thackeray cousins really convert this emotional photo-op into a meaningful political counterforce against Eknath Shinde’s faction and the mighty BJP? Or is this unity simply nostalgia in saffron colours?

The Shiv Sena was once synonymous with Balasaheb Thackeray’s voice booming over Mumbai’s streets — a force that made the city’s working-class Marathi population feel powerful, relevant, and protected in a rapidly cosmopolitanising metropolis. But when Balasaheb picked Uddhav, the soft-spoken, family man, over the fiery Raj, the split was inevitable. By 2006, Raj Thackeray had walked away and formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) — taking with him not just cadres but a chunk of the Sena’s raw street energy. Uddhav’s Shiv Sena (UBT) has lost its official party name and symbol to Eknath Shinde’s rebel faction, which joined hands with the BJP to snatch power and label itself the “real” Sena. Raj Thackeray’s MNS, meanwhile, has failed to convert its street-level theatre into seats — it remains more a punchline than a political threat, despite Raj’s undoubted charisma.

Yet, under the shadow of the recently held celebration event in Mumbai, something shifted. For the first time in two decades, the cousins laughed together on stage, invoked Balasaheb’s spirit, and subtly told Maharashtra’s Marathi voters: “We are still here, and we’re family.”

On paper, this has massive implications. In Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and other urban clusters, the Marathi vote still matters. The split between Uddhav’s Sena and Raj’s MNS often diluted that vote, handing seats to the BJP and now Shinde’s Sena. If the cousins truly join forces, this division could vanish overnight, turning local body polls and even the 2029 assembly elections into a real test for the ruling alliance.

But the real world is messier than emotional slogans. The biggest hurdle is not whether Uddhav and Raj can pose for photos — it’s whether their parties can stitch a workable seat-sharing formula without burning bridges at the grassroots. Who contests where? Who sacrifices which fiefdom? The MNS remains strong in parts of Mumbai, Nashik, and Pune, while Uddhav’s Sena still has loyal shakhas in the same regions. Any wrong call could revive old factional wounds — the very wounds this reunion aims to heal.

Then there’s the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Uddhav’s faction is still part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes both parties. But the MNS’s hardline positions — on migrants, on Muslim reservations, on linguistic identity — have often clashed with the Congress’s more inclusive voter pitch. If Uddhav courts Raj formally, can he convince the Congress to stand shoulder-to-shoulder? Or will it risk pushing away the Muslim vote, which is still crucial in dozens of urban seats?

At the grassroots, the complications multiply. Old Shiv Sainiks who once fought MNS workers in street clashes will need to work together. Who becomes the local boss? Who gets the corporator ticket? Whose flag flies at the local shakha? These are questions that no photo-op can answer.

Yet the emotional power of the Thackeray brand can’t be underestimated. When Uddhav and Raj share a dais, old-time Marathi voters — Auto-taxi drivers, mill workers’ families, small shopkeepers — feel a deep nostalgia for Balasaheb’s Mumbai, a city where their voice mattered. Eknath Shinde’s “real Sena” line is powerful, but a united Thackeray family — literal blood heirs — can blunt his biggest brag: that he alone protects Balasaheb’s legacy.

For Shinde, this is a direct threat. His rural base remains strong, but his biggest advantage was the urban Marathi vote split. If that closes, seats in Mumbai, Thane, and parts of Western Maharashtra could swing away from him. For the BJP too, the worry is real — the Marathi manoos sentiment can override caste calculations in urban seats, creating unexpected headaches for a party that has mastered coalition arithmetic.

But the flip side is equally true: if Uddhav and Raj fumble the alliance — if seat-sharing talks get stuck, if local fights erupt, if the Congress or NCP feel sidelined — this unity could backfire. Shinde and the BJP would love nothing more than an emotional Thackeray reunion that collapses under its own contradictions. One cannot ignore the symbolism of the moment, though. Leaders like Anil Parab and Kishori Pednekar were moved to tears, saying this was the moment Balasaheb would have loved to see. In the crowd, old Sainiks cheered and cried at the thought that the original saffron family was back together. The celebration event stage became a Marathi pride rally, a quiet rebellion against Centre’s Hindi push — and a reminder that Mumbai’s soul still beats in Marathi.

The next few months will reveal whether this is just nostalgia or a genuine political realignment. If the Thackeray brothers can finalise an alliance, settle their local leadership egos, bring the Congress and NCP(SP) on board, and craft a joint pitch that feels modern yet rooted in Marathi pride — they can reclaim ground that looked lost forever. But if they fail, the Marathi vote will keep splintering, Shinde’s narrative will hold, and the BJP’s electoral machinery will slice through the chaos — again.

In the end, the Thackeray name remains Maharashtra’s most potent emotional trigger. The real test is whether that emotion can be converted into seats, power, and policy — or whether it remains a stage show that makes loyalists cry but changes nothing on voting day. The next election may well tell us which it is.

One thing is clear: the cousins have brought hope back to thousands who still chant “Jai Maharashtra” from the heart. Now they must prove that this hope is not just an echo of the past — but the start of a new, hard-nosed fight for the Marathi manoos in the city Balasaheb once ruled with a single roar.

authorimg

Mayuresh Ganapatye

Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. Follow him at @mayuganapa…Read More

Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. Follow him at @mayuganapa… Read More

    First Published:
News opinion The Maha Picture | Thackeray Brothers’ Unity: Shinde’s Nightmare Or Just Symbolic Fireworks?



Source link

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article ChatGPT Could Soon Get a Study Together Feature That Helps Users Learn New Topics ChatGPT Might Soon Get a New Study Together Feature – Delhi News Daily
Next Article Morgan Stanley initiates coverage on The Leela shares with ‘overweight’ rating, Rs 549 target; stock up 5% – Delhi News Daily
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • 10 rescued, 4 dead after Houthi attack sinks Red Sea vessel; militant group share footage of deadly strike – Watch video – Times of India – Delhi News Daily
  • 6-year-old girl sold into marriage with 45-year-old in Afghanistan; Taliban intervenes: ‘Wait until she’s nine’ | World News – Times of India – Delhi News Daily
  • Ranbir Kapoor invests Rs 15 crore in ‘Ramayana’ production house, stock up over 90% since April – Delhi News Daily
  • ‘If Thackeray Family Retorts To Violence…’: Nishikant Dubey Clarifies ‘Will Beat You’ Remark – Delhi News Daily
  • Dell Launches Alienware 16 Aurora in India; Sale Begins on Prime Day 2025 – Delhi News Daily

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

You Might Also Like

News18
Politics

‘Those Who Wronged The Nation Must Apologise’: RSS Attacks Congress Over 1975 Emergency – Delhi News Daily

Last Updated:June 26, 2025, 22:24 ISTRSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said the Preamble of the Constitution was tampered with during…

4 Min Read

‘Silence Cost Us’: Ahead of BMC Polls, Uddhav Thackeray Urges Sena Cadre To Rectify ‘Mistakes’ – Delhi News Daily

Last Updated:June 16, 2025, 16:58 ISTThackeray referred to the missteps in the 2019 Assembly elections where the Shiv Sena (UBT)…

4 Min Read
News18
Politics

BJP Takes ‘Charitra’ Jibe At RJD Over Lalu Prasad’s Viral Photo With Ambedkar’s Portrait – Delhi News Daily

Last Updated:June 16, 2025, 12:03 ISTThe BJP and RJD sparred over a viral picture involving Lalu Prasad and Dr BR…

3 Min Read
News18
Politics

‘Meal In Silver Plates’ At Maharashtra Govt’s Mumbai Conclave Raises Eyebrows – Delhi News Daily

Last Updated:June 26, 2025, 09:27 ISTThe platinum jubilee of Parliament's Estimates Committee in Mumbai sparked controversy as Maharashtra Congress and…

4 Min Read

Delhi News Daily

© Delhi News Daily Network.

Incognito Web Technologies

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?