Maharashtra polls: Why Raj Thackeray's MNS is no longer 'untouchable' for BJP

Raj Thackeray gave feelers to the BJP in 2013 by visiting Gujarat to study “Modi Model”

In 2008, the MNS chief Raj Thackeray was arrested for giving an inflammatory speech against north Indians. His party cadres attacked poor taxi drivers, labourers, factory workers and hawkers who hailed from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The riots led to exodus of north Indians from cities like Nashik, Pune and Thane. Raj Thackeray's outburst hardly spared any person or thing identified with North India ranging from Amitabh Bachchan to Laloo Yadav and Chhat Pooja to Bhojpuri movies. Such was his fear that in 2012 Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had to send an emissary to seek Thackeray's permission for organising Bihar Day celebrations in Mumbai. His anti-north Indian tirade helped him win thirteen MLAs in 2009 elections. However, in later elections, his party couldn't win more than one seat. His anti-north Indian stance also isolated his party in the state politics.

Raj Thackeray picked up the Marathi issue after noticing that there was no other political outfit which was pursuing linguistic politics. The Shiv Sena, which was established to take up the cause of sons of the soil and attacked non-Marathis, had completely become an inclusive party under Uddhav Thackeray's leadership and even had north Indian office bearers. In fact, the transformation from "Marathi" to "Hindutva" began much before Uddhav took over the reins of the party, under Bal Thackeray.

Raj Thackeray, while he was in Shiv Sena, still pursued the anti-north Indian policy. In 2004, his workers attacked north Indian examinees at the Kalyan railway station, who had come for the railway recruitment. This had sabotaged Uddhav Thackeray's "Me Mumbaikar" campaign initiated earlier that year to bond non-Marathis with the Shiv Sena.

The Congress and NCP found advent of Raj Thackeray advantageous as his MNS led to division of the Shiv Sena votes. It was due to the MNS that the Congress-NCP alliance was able to circumvent the ten year long anti-incumbency and return to power for the third time in 2009. However, the BJP maintained a distance with Raj Thackeray. A proximity with him in Maharashtra meant loss in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The BJP didn't want to be seen with a party which was hostile towards north Indians. Raj Thackeray gave feelers to the BJP in 2013 by visiting Gujarat to study “Modi Model”. He praised the Modi administration and said that Narendra Modi deserved to be the Prime Minister. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he fielded candidates against the Shiv Sena candidates but not against the BJP ones. However, no formal alliance between the BJP and MNS could be forged in the Vidhan Sabha elections which followed later that year.

By 2019, the relationship between the BJP and Raj Thackeray soured and during Lok Sabha polls he started addressing rallies to target Modi’s first tenure as the Prime Minister. Through a video screen in the backdrop, Raj Thackeray played old statements of Modi and tried to convey that Modi didn’t practice what he preached. Thackeray’s tirade against Modi ceased after he was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in a decade old case and was interrogated for about nine hours.

In January 2020, Raj Thackeray changed his party’s four-colour flag with the saffron one and announced that “Hindutva is in my DNA.” To strengthen his newly acquired Hindutva leader image, he took up the issue of loud speakers in mosques and asked MNS workers to play Hanuman Chalisa outside the mosques if loudspeakers were not removed. He also quit speaking against north Indians like he did during initial few years of founding his party. Just before 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Raj Thackeray announced “unconditional support” to the BJP to make Modi PM again.

Ultimately, the MNS no longer remains untouchable for the BJP. The BJP has announced support to Raj Thackeray’s son Amit, who is contesting from Mahim, to return the favour. However, Sada Sarwankar, the candidate of BJP’s alliance partner Shiv Sena in the Mahayuti, has refused to withdraw his candidature.

Considering the proximity of MNS with the BJP, a post-poll alliance between them couldn’t be ruled out. The MNS could become part of the government in a scenario where Mahayuti returns to power and MNS is able to win more than one seat this time.