'Genuine Hindutva' captures Bambai :::: Thackerays 'failure' means rejection of Marathi-manus Parochialism ---- Mumbai has swung back to Hindu-nationalism with Development ... and that's 'new Bharat' as envisioned by Moditva

Gujarat's historic and geographic location in close proximity of Mumbai/Bombay and Maharashtra often get ignored.  It is a fact of life that Maharashtra did witness initial days of Hindu revivalism/radicalism. 

This polarisation and religious upheaval had a lot to do with the pro-Hindutva tilt of Gujarat. Because of commercial reasons and even Left trade union influence in textile mills and other industrial units -- the Gujarat was impressed by the teachings of RSS founding fathers. The Hindu Mahasabha was identified with upper castes, elites and conservative Hindus. 

Under RSS leader Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the RSS spread in north India and adjoining Gujarat pretty fast. And as a result, the RSS leaders started working so that entire gamut of social life was designed on the rockbed of Hindu nationalism.

Both the RSS and the BJP had to struggle for decades and today, Jan 16/2026 .... the history has been made.

The rejection of Thackeray cousins is more than a political mandate.

Bal Thackeray was all for Ram Mandir - Uddhav sat on Congress lap

For Uddhav Thackeray, who had gambled once by cutting off ties with longtime ally BJP and formed an alliance with the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP in 2019;, the latest move was seen as a desperate roll of the dice.

The BMC elections were also crucial because the corporation is one of Asia's richest and the Shiv Sena had been in power there for 25 years. For Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT), then, this election was about defending its last bastion.

Mumbai has basically punished Uddhav for aligning with the "anti-Hindu" Congress and a leader like Sharad Pawar --- whom Bal Thackeray never liked in his lifetime.  

"Not toxic thinking and foul-smelling narratives. Mumbaikars have set the agenda, development, development, and only development," tweeted Sanjay Nirupam, a Bihari leader who made big in Mumbai by connections and hard work. 

Often lost in thought of my experience during 7-year stay in Mumbai -- a memory flashes in my mind -- the picture of a few helpless looking smalltime businessmen with their bulging eyes reflecting fear. The anti-north Indian Marathi parochialism was at its peak. Today that fateful correction was made in this year's BMC polls. 

Mumbai marks 'rejection' of Toxic Cousins 

What's worse, Raj Thackeray's strident stand on non-Maharashtrians and a violent championing of Marathi pride, including his workers beating up people for not speaking the language, is also being seen as having cost the Shiv Sena (UBT) seats, especially in wards with a large non-Marathi population. 

The speculation, thus, is that, despite a transfer of votes from the MNS to his party, Uddhav Thackeray would probably have been better off contesting on his own or with the Congress, which has won 11 wards but enjoys more support among non-Maharashtrians.

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance swept the polls with 118 seats, and the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 90 seats. The Shiv Sena (Shinde), on the other hand, is leading with 28 seats.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday thanked the people of Maharashtra for the NDA’s strong performance in the municipal corporation elections, calling the mandate an endorsement of the alliance’s agenda of public welfare and good governance.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister said the enthusiastic support from voters reflected a growing bond between the NDA and the people of Maharashtra. He stated that the election results demonstrated how the government’s performance and vision for development had resonated with citizens across the state.

Among other parties, AIMIM was leading in seven wards, while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was ahead in five wards. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, NCP (Sharad Pawar) and NCP (Ajit Pawar), were leading in two wards each.