Mumbai, June 7, 2025;-
In a significant setback for Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the party’s lone remaining corporator, Sanjay Turde, has officially joined the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The defection comes just months ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, marking a serious blow to MNS’s already weakened political footing in Mumbai.
Turde, who represented the Kalina constituency, had remained loyal to Raj Thackeray even after six of his MNS colleagues defected to Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena in 2017. With his exit, the MNS now stands without any elected corporator in the city’s civic body — a clear reflection of the party’s dwindling influence.
The timing of this political shift is particularly notable, as speculation had recently intensified about a potential alliance between the Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, in a bid to counter the BJP-Shinde coalition in Mumbai. Turde’s move appears to have derailed any such unity narrative and exposes the internal rifts and leadership vacuum within the MNS.
Sources close to the development suggest that Turde’s switch is also a strategic win for Eknath Shinde, who continues to consolidate power in Mumbai’s political landscape. His faction now further tightens its grip on the civic scene ahead of the BMC elections, which are expected to be fiercely contested.
This latest defection underscores the broader challenges that regional parties like the MNS face in sustaining their cadre, relevance, and voter trust amid Maharashtra’s increasingly polarized and competitive political environment
