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As per sources, the grand old party is reportedly unhappy with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over his increasing closeness with his estranged cousin.
Bhai Jagtap said that the issue was discussed at a meeting of a newly formed committee with Maharashtra in charge, Ramesh Chennithala.
The opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be heading for another internal tussle after Congress refused to ally with Raj Thackeray’s MNS in the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra.
Former Mumbai Congress chief and Maharashtra MLC Bhai Jagtap on Tuesday said that the party will not ally with Raj Thackeray in the upcoming polls, but would rather contest independently.
Jagtap said that the issue was discussed at a meeting of a newly formed committee with Maharashtra in charge, Ramesh Chennithala. However, there has been no official announcement in this regard.
As per sources, the grand old party is reportedly unhappy with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over his increasing closeness with his estranged cousin. Amid the growing unease, the Congress MLC has asserted that the party will contest the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra alone.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Reacts
Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey has reacted to Jagtap’s statement, and said, “The decision on alliance will be taken by senior leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray.”
“Do not challenge us. We are Shiv Sena and in the last election we contested alone and defeated the BJP. We respect our alliance partners but are also ready to contest the elections alone,” Dubey added.
Congress Upset With Thackerays’ Cousins’ Closeness?
The Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s party have been allies since 2019 — an alliance crafted by Nationalist Congress chief Sharad Pawar against the BJP in Maharashtra. However, Uddhav Thackeray’s renewed closeness with his estranged cousin could make things more complicated in the MVA.
The meetings between Raj and Uddhav have become more frequent after their joint July 5 “victory” rally to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s rollback of its contentious orders on three-language formula for students of classes 1 to 5 amid charges of imposition of Hindi in the state dominated by Marathi speakers.
Recently, both leaders met at the “naamkaran” ceremony of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s grandchild in Mumbai. Later, in an unannounced development, Raj drove to Uddhav’s residence, Matoshree, and held a closed-door meeting with his brother amid alliance buzz.
Last month, the former Chief Minister visited the MNS president’s residence ’Shivtirth’ in Dadar to meet the latter’s mother, Kunda ’mavshi’ (mother’s sister). Both Raj and Uddhav are maternal as well as paternal cousins.
Uddhav visited ’Shivtirth’ in August too, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. In July, Raj visited Matoshree to wish the latter on his birthday.
Although Raj quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, blaming Uddhav for his exit, the drubbing of their parties in the 2024 assembly polls appears to have pushed the rivals to improve ties.
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
October 21, 2025, 23:02 IST
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