Rajat Sharma’s Blog | Maharashtra elections: Friend is no longer friend

Updated: 14-01-2026, 12.23 PM

Voting will be held tomorrow for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. 3 crore 48 lakh voters will decide the fate of 16,931 candidates. Counting of votes will take place on Friday. The grand alliance of BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is trying hard to end the 25-year long hold of the old unified Shiv Sena on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, whereas this time both Uddhav and Raj Thackeray are fighting together. BMC elections are being held for the first time after the split in Shiv Sena in 2022. Shiv Sena has been in control of this Municipal Corporation for the last 25 years.

The elections are of municipal corporations, but the issues of the campaign ranged from Hindu-Muslim to India and Pakistan. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis roamed around Nagpur on a bike, campaigned against his own Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s party in Pune, Ajit Pawar accused BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena of corruption, Uddhav Thackeray called Devendra Fadnavis anti-Marathi, while Nitish Rane accused Uddhav Thackeray of abandoning saffron to wear green clothes for the votes of Muslims.

BJP leaders accused Eknath Shinde’s party of distributing money to voters. In Kalyan Dombivali and Ambernath, workers of BJP and Shinde’s Shiv Sena clashed with each other, even bloodshed took place. That means, to win the Municipal Corporation elections in Maharashtra, all the equations were broken, all the alliances were scattered.

The question is, will the hostility that is visible today continue even after the election results are declared on January 16? Or will Uddhav Thackeray and Congress be seen together again after January 16? Will the bitterness between BJP and Shinde’s Shiv Sena go away? Will Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar come together after the Municipal Corporation elections?

Devendra Fadnavis said that this time change is certain in Mumbai, Mahayuti will have mayor in BMC. Political equations have changed in the last four years. Now the party is out of Uddhav Thackeray’s hands, the election symbol is also gone and Mumbai is the only stronghold of Uddhav Thackeray’s party left in Maharashtra. That’s why BJP is trying its best to capture BMC. Uddhav is most worried about BMC. On the last day of the campaign, Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray roamed the streets of Mumbai on foot, going door-to-door and asking for votes. Uddhav Thackeray went to Sangharsh Nagar area of Andheri and met voters.

This time an amazing sight was seen in the local body elections in Maharashtra. No one cared about ideology or alliance. Neither friendship nor enmity worked. Devendra Fadnavis sacrificed his life in these elections. This became a question of existence for Uddhav and Raj Thackeray. If these two lose the BMC elections this time, they will be of no use. Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy will also be tested in this election. The remote of BMC always remained in the hands of Balasaheb.

This time, neither the allegations nor the language were limited to win the elections. Someone said that BJP people will separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, someone said that Thackeray will make a Muslim the mayor. Thackeray said that if BJP comes, they will make a Hindu the mayor, not a Marathi. The biggest thing is that while contesting elections, principles were kept aside while choosing the alliance partner. I think this trend of politics will be visible in Maharashtra for a long time. (Rajat Sharma)

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