Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut announced on Friday that the party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, will jointly contest the upcoming civic elections in Mumbai and other cities. This alliance aims to unite Marathi-speakers.

Raut stated that discussions are currently underway with the MNS to formalize the alliance. He expressed confidence that the combined strength of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray would lead to victory in the municipal corporation elections in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, and Kalyan-Dombivali. Raut emphasized the unity of Marathi-speakers, asserting that no force could break their solidarity.

However, the BJP has dismissed Raut's statement, with BJP legislator Pravin Darekar questioning whether the Thackeray cousins had even spoken to each other and suggesting it was merely Raut's speculation. BJP leaders have also accused Shiv Sena (UBT) of only remembering Marathi voters as elections approach. Girish Mahajan, a Maharashtra minister and BJP leader, claimed that the BJP received significant support from Marathi voters in the previous year's assembly elections and that attempts to mislead them would not succeed.

The announcement comes after months of speculation about a possible alliance between the Thackeray cousins. In July 2025, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray reunited to protest against the Maharashtra government's three-language policy for students in Classes 1-5 and the "imposition" of the Hindi language. They even held a joint "victory" program after the decisions were reversed.

Raj Thackeray had previously left the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005 due to differences with his cousin Uddhav and formed the MNS, positioning it as the true champion of the "sons-of-the-soil". Since then, their parties have contested elections against each other.

Sanjay Raut has expressed confidence that the alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will secure a majority in the civic bodies of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Thane, and Kalyan-Dombivili. The elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other municipal corporations are scheduled to take place in the coming months.