Uddhav Thackeray, chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Raj Thackeray, who leads the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), recently reunited for a personal family event on Sunday, October 5, 2025. This latest meeting has intensified whispers about a potential political alliance between the cousins for the upcoming local elections.
Their gathering took place at the naming ceremony of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s grandchild in Mumbai.
Social media was abuzz with videos showing Raj, Uddhav, and Uddhav’s MLA son Aaditya Thackeray, alongside other Shiv Sena (UBT) figures like Anil Desai and Milind Narvekar, engaging in lighthearted conversation.
These encounters between Raj and Uddhav have become notably more frequent, especially since their highly publicized ‘victory’ rally on July 5. During that rally, they jointly celebrated the Maharashtra government’s decision to reverse contentious orders regarding a three-language policy for students, which had sparked concerns about Hindi imposition in the predominantly Marathi-speaking state. Speculation about a potential alliance for upcoming civic polls had already been swirling.
Just a month prior, in September 2025, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited ‘Shivtirth,’ the MNS President’s residence in Mumbai’s Dadar area, to meet Raj’s mother, Kunda ‘Mavshi.’ Both Raj and Uddhav share ties as maternal and paternal cousins. Uddhav had also visited ‘Shivtirth’ in August during the Ganesh festival celebrations.
Before that, in late July, Raj Thackeray had called on Uddhav at ‘Matoshree,’ his Bandra residence in Mumbai, to extend birthday wishes. Raj had famously left the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, attributing his departure to Uddhav. However, the disappointing performance of both their parties in the 2024 assembly elections seems to have motivated the estranged cousins to mend their relationship.
While both parties have given strong indications of forming an alliance for the upcoming local body elections, including those for the powerful Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a formal announcement has yet to be made.
Should this alliance materialize, their primary opposition would undoubtedly be the BJP, a vocal critic of the Shiv Sena (UBT). Currently, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the Opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), alongside the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Despite the growing excitement around a potential statewide alliance, both the Sena (UBT) and MNS recently suffered a setback in August during the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. elections. The panel supported by the two parties failed to secure any of the 21 available seats.