The Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray is moving decisively towards an alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Senior Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut confirmed that a formal announcement of the partnership will be made on Thursday at noon.

Raut clarified that discussions with the Congress have effectively concluded, signalling a clear break for the civic polls. His remarks came barely a day after he spoke with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. While asserting that there would be no hostility towards the Congress during the campaign, Raut indicated that post-election support could still be explored if required. Confident about the alliance’s prospects, he predicted that the Thackeray brothers’ combine would comfortably cross the 100-seat mark in the BMC.

The Congress, meanwhile, publicly confirmed its exit from any alliance involving Raj Thackeray. Party spokesperson Sachin Sawant said ideological differences had widened to the extent that a joint contest was no longer feasible. He reiterated the party’s long-standing stance of maintaining distance from political forces that, in its view, fuel divisions based on language or religion.

At the same time, the Congress signalled it was keeping alternative options open. Sawant revealed that the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) had reached out with a proposal to contest together, adding that discussions with other parties, including Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), were also underway.

The NCP-SP is reportedly weighing multiple scenarios. While it is keen on joining hands with the Thackeray brothers, negotiations have hit a roadblock over seat-sharing, with Sena (UBT)-MNS sources suggesting an offer of 10–15 seats, far short of the 50-plus seats the NCP-SP is said to be seeking. To hedge its bets, the party has not ruled out an understanding with the Congress either.

Earlier efforts to have all Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents contest the BMC polls together failed, largely due to Congress’s resistance to accommodating the MNS. Despite Shiv Sena (UBT)’s push for a united opposition against the BJP, the Mumbai Congress had already announced plans to fight the elections independently.

For Uddhav Thackeray, the alliance marks a dramatic political moment. After years of estrangement since 2005, the reunion with his cousin Raj Thackeray comes amid sustained pressure from the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led faction following the Shiv Sena split. The Sena (UBT) is banking on the MNS to regain sections of the right-leaning vote base it lost after aligning with the Congress, even as ideological differences have pushed the Congress out of the civic contest.