The political splits within Maharashtra’s most influential families appear to have finally caught up with them. The 2022–23 breakups in the Thackerays’ Shiv Sena and the Pawars’ NCP, which placed their breakaway factions in a BJP-led government, are now reflecting sharply in civic election outcomes across their traditional strongholds.
The focus is on Mumbai, where Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray have reunited after almost two decades with the aim of reviving the Thackeray legacy. However, the reunion did not bear fruit. The trends indicate that the BJP, along with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, which has retained the party name and symbol following the split in 2022, is set to capture power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The Shiv Sena, established by Bal Thackeray, had been ruling Mumbai for 25 years until 2022. After that, the elections were postponed, and this election has become very important in terms of political legacy. Shinde has always maintained that Uddhav Thackeray has deviated from the Hindutva ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray by supporting Congress and NCP, which was the reason for his rebellion.
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Legacy politics and lost ground
Raj Thackeray attempted to revive the Sena’s street-level aggression through his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), leaning heavily on the ‘Marathi manoos’ plank and recycling slogans from the 1960s. Targeting BJP leaders, he mocked, saying, “Hatao lungi, bajao pungi." Yet even this sharper rhetoric did not translate into electoral gains.
Pawars struggle in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad
The Pawar family’s split also showed limited signs of repair on the ground. Despite Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar coming together for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls, their alliance failed to make a mark.
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The trends in Pune indicated a strong majority for BJP, while both NCP factions were struggling in single-digit numbers. The NCP(SP) under Supriya Sule has had little effect, and their allies could not get their first marks. The trends in Pimpri-Chinchwad were similar. The lead in Pimpri-Chinchwad was a comfortable one for BJP. NCP under Pawar was far behind.
BJP tightens grip statewide
Notably, across Maharashtra, the BJP-led alliance was leading in a majority of wards across 29 municipal corporations, reinforcing its expanding dominance as family legacies face an uncertain future.
