Won’t let BJP and Adani take away Mumbai, say Thackeray cousins

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirma Sena leader Raj Thackeray on Sunday (January 11, 2025) launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of pursuing divisive politics and systematically “isolating” Mumbai’s Marathi Manoos. They also accused the national party of facilitating land grab to benefit Adani Group and conspiring to “separate Mumbai from Maharashtra and bring it closer to Gujarat”.

Mr. Raj Thackeray presented maps of India and Maharashtra showing the expansion of Adani Group projects between 2014 and 2025, and asked how one industrialist was being favoured in the country and the State. “The prices of cement have increased rapidly. Are we even paying attention to that? We are stuck in Hindu-Marathi,” said Mr. Raj Thackeray, adding that Mumbai was being destroyed slowly.

Mr. Uddhav Thackeray alleged the use of cement manufactured by the Adani Group for projects in the city had contributed to pollution, while the BJP built the narrative of “Hindu-Muslims, Hindu-Marathi Mayor”. He also slammed the BJP for disturbing the social fabric of Maharashtra and wanting to control the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to execute their plan of looting Mumbai.

He listed projects and land parcels handed to Adani over the last 10 years, including the Tarapur Nuclear Power Project, the Tungareshwar Sanctuary land, 24 acres for Bandra Reclamation Redevelopment Project, and the Group’s cement factories at Titwala, Mohane, Ambivali and Shahad, among others.

“Adani has received 124 acres of Motilal Nagar redevelopment project worth ₹36,000 crore, a contract worth ₹13,888 crore to install smart electricity meters in Maharashtra, 92 acres for a data centre in Airoli, RTO land in Andheri West, 20 acres of Kurla Mother Dairy land, and various other projects,” he alleged.

Citing an example, Mr. Raj Thackeray said the BJP was conspiring to control land in Mumbai, alleging it aims to slowly shift operations of the Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai and sell the airport land near Dharavi. “Vadhwan port is near Gujarat, so they are taking control of Palghar district and a part of Thane. Why are we stuck in caste and religion?”

The Thackeray cousins were speaking ahead of the municipal corporation elections in various cities, including Mumbai, scheduled on January 15. The BMC elections are considered crucial for the Thackeray cousins, and for the first time in the two decades, they have forged an alliance.

The elections will also be the first time Mr. Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena will contest without an alliance with the BJP and prove its appeal with voters in the Mumbai civic body, which has 227 seats.

During the public meeting at Shivaji Park in Maharashtra’s Mumbai, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the BJP didn’t want the Hindutavadi Shiv Sena as their ally because the party won’t let them capture and control the BMC. “They can accept a partnership with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who once raised the slogan of “Sangh mukt Bharat” and [Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister] Chandrababu Naidu but not us,” said Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, adding the BJP is no more a “country-first party, but a corruption-first, rape-first party” that instigates the bigger community and provokes the other smaller communities to consolidate votes and win elections.

He also challenged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to give one speech without speaking on the “Hindu-Muslim” relations.

Meanwhile, his cousin Mr. Raj Thackeray also questioned the voters. “Who is Marathi Manoos, the one who is bought with money easily? What is your value? These may be the last elections for the existence of Marathi Manoos.”

He also slammed Tamil Nadu BJP leader K. Annamalai and accused the party of creating divisions between the Marathi community and other communities, including the south Indian and Jain-Marwadi people. “See how they instigated people in the name of a pigeon. They want you to isolate and separate from others,” said Thackeray, referring to the recent row over the ban on feeding pigeons in the capital city.

The Shiv Sena was in power in BMC for 25 consecutive years, from 1997 to 2022, after which elections are being held for the first time.

Worli legislator Aaditya Thackeray showed photos of the Coastal Road project, including those of its geo-technical survey, inauguration, stone-laying ceremony, and the tunnel boring machine, and said the party was now trying to take credit for the project. “The BJP at the time had boycotted the inauguration programme. Who boycotts their own government’s programme? This machine was brought in our tenure. We are not against anyone but fighting for Maharashtra,” said Mr. Aaditya.

Meanwhile, NCP-SP leader Jayant Patil announced that Mumbai’s mayor will be decided by the Thackeray cousins and appealed to people to vote for them, saying, “Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who looted Surat 300 years ago, someone is trying to take its revenge.”