BMC polls: The freshly unified Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav and MNS leader Raj Thackeray have been criticized by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who claims that the Mumbai municipal body election on January 15 is a struggle for survival for the cousins rather than the Marathi people.

On Monday, the last day of civic election campaigning, Fadnavis spoke at a rally here in favor of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. He said that Mumbai is an integral part of Maharashtra and that no one would try to separate it.

The chief minister played old footage of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray fighting during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election rally at the famous Shivaji Park.

After being apart for 20 years, the cousins finally teamed up for the civic elections.

Fadnavis said that he didn’t need to say anything more and urged the organizers to show video footage of the Thackeray brothers, who split up in 2005, criticizing one another in the past.

In response to Raj Thackeray, the leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who said that the Mumbai municipal body election will be the last one for Marathi people, Fadnavis stated, “Your own survival is at stake.””The (BMC) election is not about a threat to Mumbai, Marathi speakers, but your own survival,” he said, making reference to the Thackeray cousins, whose parties are up against the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, which controls India’s largest and wealthiest municipal body with a budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore.

Uddhav Thackeray’s erstwhile friend, Fadnavis, said that he was determined to install a Mahayuti mayor in Mumbai and bring about an age of open municipal government. He promised, “We will transform the city,” and urged voters to support the Shiv Sena and BJP in Thursday’s elections.

The CM questioned what the undivided Shiv Sena’s leadership had accomplished for the Marathi speakers, who are now seen as being in danger, and criticized the party’s more than two-decade-long dominance in the BMC.The (unified) Shiv Sena failed to defend the rights of Marathi speakers despite having long held civic administration authority. Those in charge of such a circumstance were not entitled to guardianship. The Thackerays were attacked by Fadnavis, who said that they did not speak for Mumbai or the Marathi people.

Deputy Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde, Republican Party of India (RPI) Chief Ramdas Athawale, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and others during a BMC election rally in Mumbai on Monday, January 12, 2026.

The chief minister said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime, which was headed by Uddhav Thackeray and ran from November 2019 to June 2022, was responsible for the state’s decision to implement the New Education Policy and make Hindi mandatory for students in Classes 1 through 12. It also ended the Dharavi reconstruction tender that his government had previously issued in 2019.We discovered that the MVA government’s tender was improper after we took power. We gave the project to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DPR), whose developer is the Adani Group and whose state government is a significant shareholder,” he said.

In addition to constructing infrastructure and commercial areas, the massive project entails turning Dharavi, the biggest slum in Asia, into a contemporary, planned city by giving its inhabitants permanent accommodation.

Fadnavis emphasized that the only language that is required in Maharashtra is Marathi. “Under a three-language policy, one can learn any language of their choice, but Marathi is a compulsory language in Maharashtra,” he said.

According to Fadnavis, the Navi Mumbai International Airport was built in five years after being suggested some years ago to relieve traffic at the Mumbai airport. It began operations last month.He said, “We will build a third airport (in the Mumbai region) and expand the capacity of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.”

Additionally, Fadnavis said that the Indian economy has been growing steadily since 2014 and that several corporations’ net worths have increased since then.”Adani group companies have also invested in non-BJP-ruled states,” he said.

At least his uncle, Raj Thackeray, is a better mimic, the BJP leader said, criticizing Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray for copying him in public.Because of imitation, he (Aaditya) has to recall the state of his uncle’s party (MNS). Aaditya Thackeray and I should argue, according to Uddhav Thackeray. On Tuesday, the penultimate day of the campaign, I challenge Uddhav Thackeray to submit Aaditya for a debate. Our candidate, Sheetal Gambhir, will engage him in debate,” Fadnavis said.

The Mahayuti flag will be raised atop the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, according to the chief minister.

The event was also attended by Union minister Ramdas Athawale, a BJP ally, and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who leads the Shiv Sena.