Has Maharashtra verdict decisively tilted the Uddhav vs Shinde debate over Bal Thackeray's legacy?

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde. (File photos)

The results of Maharashtra's recently concluded municipal council and nagar panchayat elections point to far-reaching political consequences in the long-running battle over the claim to Shiv Sena and the towering political legacy of its founder Balasaheb Thackeray. The polls ended in a sweeping victory for the ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, while delivering a crushing blow to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Out of 288 urban local bodies, the Mahayuti secured control of 215 chairperson posts, while the Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-NCP (Sharad Pawar) alliance managed just 51. Beyond reaffirming the Mahayuti's dominance, the results underline the growing acceptance of Eknath Shinde's faction as the principal inheritor of Bal Thackeray’s political legacy.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 129 local bodies. Collectively, the Mahayuti's grip over 215 civic units marks a decisive consolidation of power in urban and semi-urban Maharashtra. The BJP's organisational expansion was particularly striking. Its total number of councillors rose from 1,602 in the 2017 local polls to 3,325 this time, more than doubling its footprint at the grassroots level.

What stood out, however, was the relative performance of the split regional parties. Shiv Sena (UBT) recorded a strike rate of just 18.5%, while Sharad Pawar's NCP managed 17.2%, indicating a clear erosion of their traditional bases. In contrast, Shinde's Shiv Sena outperformed Uddhav Thackeray's faction, and Ajit Pawar's NCP fared better than the Sharad Pawar-led outfit, reinforcing the sense that political legacy in Maharashtra is shifting away from family control.

Among the Mahayuti partners, the BJP posted a formidable strike rate of 63.1%, winning nearly two-thirds of the seats it contested. Shinde's Shiv Sena followed with a strong 54.9% strike rate, showing that the split has not weakened its grassroots presence. Ajit Pawar's NCP, with a strike rate of 44.3%, delivered a middling but stable performance, signalling continued support among its core constituencies.

The Congress, meanwhile, struggled with a strike rate of just 25%, reflecting persistent organisational weaknesses and leadership challenges at the local level.

The verdict was particularly damaging for Shiv Sena (UBT) in regions long considered its strongholds including Mumbai's extended periphery, Thane district, the Konkan belt of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, and parts of Marathwada. Although Mumbai itself was not directly part of these elections, several smaller civic bodies from Thane and Konkan were included.

Even here, the UBT faction failed to gain traction, winning only nine chairperson posts overall. Reports from the Konkan region, comprising 27 local bodies, suggest that Uddhav Thackeray's party was virtually wiped out, with the Shinde-BJP combine making deep inroads.

These results are being seen as a major setback for the UBT camp ahead of the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections scheduled for January 2026. While UBT leader Sanjay Raut blamed the losses on money power and alleged manipulation, electorally the Shinde faction has made a compelling claim to Bal Thackeray's legacy.

Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena fared even worse. The party failed to win a single chairperson post, underlining its declining relevance ahead of the BMC polls. Since splitting from the Shiv Sena in 2006, the MNS has struggled to build a durable organisational base. Its inability to win even a single seat in the 2024 Assembly elections was followed by another poor showing at the local level, weakening Raj Thackeray's bargaining power in any future political realignment.

Taken together, the results send two clear messages. First, in a state where nearly half the population lives in urban areas, the BJP's continued dominance in civic bodies suggests strong public endorsement of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government. Second, the Opposition has failed to capitalise on its relative success in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where it won 31 seats.

Within months, the momentum dissipated in the Assembly polls and has continued to ebb through successive local elections.

For the ruling alliance, the outcome will boost the morale of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ahead of the BMC polls. For the Opposition, particularly the Thackeray cousins, the civic verdict raises uncomfortable questions about who truly carries forward Bal Thackeray's political inheritance in Maharashtra.