As the nomination process for municipal corporation polls is set to start from Tuesday (December 23, 2025), the seat-sharing talks between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are in the last phase. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, on Monday (December 22, 2025), reiterated that in two days, the Thackeray brothers will announce the political alliance.
“The wait is almost over, as today was the last round of discussions. Tomorrow or the day after, the alliance and seat-sharing will be announced with grandiosity,” said Mr. Raut, adding that the Thackeray brothers have united at a personal level; only the political alliance is left.
On Monday, senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar and Nitin Sardesai also visited Matoshri, the residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Dadar for discussions. Nitin Sardesai said, “The talks are in the last phase, maybe another round of meetings will be held after consulting Raj Thackeray on a few seats. However, so far it is turning out to be good and positive.”
After the Maharashtra Assembly elections, where Shiv Sena (UBT) performed poorly, winning only 20 seats out of 288 seats, while his cousin Raj Thackeray’s party MNS won zero seats, both decided to explore a new union. Thackeray cousins ending their two-decade-long estrangement were seen in several public meetings and events. However, they are yet to officially announce their alliance for the upcoming elections scheduled on January 15. The filing of nominations starts from December 23, with December 30 being the last day in all 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Mumbai.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab and Sanjay Raut also met Raj Thackeray to discuss seat-sharing. Both parties will contest in Municipal Corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Mira-Bhayandar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Nashik, and others. However, the speculation is that the conflict is in the seats, including Dadar, Sewri, Worli, and others, where both parties have high influence or the areas with high Marathi demographic presence.
Calling it a “new experiment, Mr. Raut added, “Municipal Corporation elections are high-stakes elections; the scrutiny of the seat-sharing list will keep happening till the last moment.”