Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2024: No Thackeray vs Thackeray in Worli as both Aditya and Amit may contest in different constituencies

Aaditya Thackeray, Yuva Sena (UBT) president; (right) Amit Thackeray, MNS youth wing president. File pics/Ashish Raje

While many political families will be against each other in the forthcoming state polls, will the estranged Thackeray cousins set an example for others if their sons are in the Assembly fray in Worli and Mahim? Speculation is rife that if Raj Thackeray's son Amit is fielded in Mahim, the Sena (UBT) may not oppose him, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may reciprocate by not rivalling Uddhav Thackeray's son, and sitting MLA, Aaditya, in the neighbouring Worli segment, where MNS did not oppose him in his debut in 2019.

Talks about Amit Thackeray's candidature have begun with MNS workers urging his father to put his son, the chief of the party's youth wing, in the electoral contest in Mahim which the Sena (UBT) will have in the MVA seat-sharing. It is said that a section of the Sena (UBT) has suggested that the party shouldn't contest Mahim if Amit Thackeray enters the ring. If such a gesture comes from the cousin, the political circles expect Raj's party to refrain from contesting the adjacent Worli constituency, where MNS is preparing for the battle, among many others in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra. In the 2019 elections, MNS did not put up a candidate against Aaditya, who won with a massive margin against the undivided NCP's candidate.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray

If that happened, the cordial exchange of gestures could be a positive exception in the current muddier political scenario, said an observer. "Many families across the state are split in power politics. The ensuing elections will see even more families falling apart, and their members confronting each other like never before," he said.

However, it still remains to be seen whether Raj Thackeray allows his son to take a plunge in the electoral battle. His uncle and Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray led the party to power instead of contesting polls. He made his sainiks MLAs, ministers and chief ministers. Raj has so far followed his uncle's footsteps as far as contesting elections are concerned.

This time around, Raj Thackeray has been appealing to the people to vote for his party to make it one of the ruling parties. MNS will be contesting in November without being part of any alliance though it had supported Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha elections. In 2009, its first solo run had given MNS 13 MLAs. In the outgoing House, the MNS has just one legislator. Raj wishes to increase the number of elected representatives to be one of the stakeholders in the game of thrones.

In Mahim, the MNS had a legislator in 2009 and finished runner-up in the following two elections against undivided Sena's nominee Sada Sarvankar, who shifted his loyalty to Shiv Sena (Shinde) after the party split in 2022.

Uddhav Thackeray was the first from the family to become a CM in 2019. He got elected to the Upper House later. His son Aaditya made his Assembly debut from Worli in the 2019 state elections that the Sena had fought in a pre-poll pact with the BJP. The alliance broke after the results. Aaditya served as a Cabinet minister till the Thackeray-ld Maha Vikas Aghadi government fell in June 2022.

36
No. of Assembly seats in Mumbai