Mumbai: With just eight days remaining before the elections, two Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders—Santosh Dhuri and Raja Chaugule—quit the party and joined the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, respectively. Both leaders alleged that the Raj Thackeray-led MNS ignored long-standing loyalists and sacrificed several wards to Shiv Sena (UBT) in the seat-sharing pact for the BMC elections.
Dhuri Upset Over Seat Allocation
Dhuri, a long-time MNS leader since the party’s formation in March 2006, won his first BMC election in 2007, when MNS contested for the first time and emerged as a significant force in the civic body. Considered a strong contender of MNS from Ward 194 in the Mahim assembly constituency, Dhuri was upset when the seat was allotted to Shiv Sena (UBT) as part of the MNS–UBT alliance for the 2026 BMC elections.
Dhuri Joins BJP, Cites Neglect
On Tuesday, he joined the BJP. Dhuri claimed that the Raj Thackeray-led party had been given only wards where Shiv Sena (UBT) would find it difficult to win. He added that in areas like Mahim, Dadar, Sewri, Worli, and Bhandup—home to large Marathi-speaking populations—the MNS had demanded at least two seats but was allotted only one. Dhuri claimed that MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande was not even involved in the seat-sharing discussions.
Claims of Past Grievances Ignored
"The Maha Vikas Aghadi government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, filed cases against us over Hindutva and forced us to stay out of Maharashtra. We forgave all that, these people even took six corporators from us after the 2017 civic polls, but we let it go. MNS loyalists were ignored for the sake of ticket aspirants in the Shiv Sena (UBT)," Dhuri said.
Chaugule Also Switches Sides
Raja Chaugule, another senior MNS leader from Chembur, also felt ignored and joined Shiv Sena (Shinde) faction on Tuesday.
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