Raj Thackeray, the maverick leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has long been the political enfant terrible of Maharashtra. In a recent address to his party workers in Goregaon, he declared the MNS’s intent to contest the upcoming state elections independently, distancing himself from both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Thackeray’s rhetoric was fiery as ever, positioning himself as the outsider in the state’s fluid political landscape.
His assertion that the MNS will be part of the next government is a bold claim for a leader whose party has been in decline since its heyday in 2012. In his address, Thackeray railed against political flip-flopping, lambasting those who switched sides for power and warning that Maharashtra should never bow before the dictates of Delhi—a thinly veiled critique of the central government’s influence over the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti coalition.
Thackeray’s criticism of industrial giant Adani, accusing it of land grabs in Maharashtra, may be an attempt to tap into a perceived well of populist anger against crony capitalism. But this anti-corporate stance sits uneasily with his recent dalliance with the BJP, a party that has hardly shied away from close ties with big business.
His dismissal of the Maratha reservation as unattainable and critique of the ‘Ladki Bahin’ welfare scheme—deemed fiscally unsustainable—reflect his willingness to tackle contentious issues, even at the risk of alienating a key voter bloc.
Yet, despite this strident anti-establishment tone, Thackeray’s actions have been far more conciliatory towards the ruling BJP and CM Shinde in the last couple of years. Earlier this year, he campaigned vigorously for the ruling Mahayuti’s candidates in the Lok Sabha elections after declaring his unconditional support for PM Modi despite receiving no electoral seat himself. His familiar brand of oratory, marked by scathing attacks on his cousin and rival, Uddhav Thackeray and savage lampooning of political rivals, has not translated into any political capital.
The MNS, founded in 2006 to champion the cause of the ‘Marathi manoos’, has seen its fortunes dwindle over the years. In 2014, it suffered twin electoral debacles and subsequent local and national elections only cemented its political irrelevance. Even its fiery campaign against north Indians, which once garnered both support and notoriety, has become a footnote. The question remains what does Raj Thackeray want? In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he had campaigned for Congress-NCP. This time, his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier this year led us to think the MNS would finally be an integral part of the Mahayuti. This, however, has not come to pass, and Thackeray’s solo gambit for the state elections suggests either a calculated risk or a desperate last stand. If the MNS falters once more in this Assembly election, Thackeray risks being consigned to the margins of Maharashtra’s political history.
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