Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday ruled out any future political understanding between the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) or Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, asserting that his alliance is strong enough to win elections independently.

Speaking to ANI, Fadnavis said there was no question of forming an alliance with the MVA or Uddhav Thackeray in the future. “We do not require their support. We are confident of winning on our own,” he said, adding that while political civility could remain, electoral collaboration was off the table.

The Chief Minister said the Mahayuti had approached the civic elections with seriousness and professionalism from the outset. He highlighted that the alliance had fielded candidates from diverse and modest backgrounds, including vegetable vendors, middle-class individuals, advocates, and even those without personal housing. According to him, the campaign had received strong public backing due to the work presented before voters.

Expressing confidence in the results, Fadnavis predicted that the Mahayuti would secure a clear majority and win mayoral positions in 26 of the 29 municipal corporations going to polls.

He also accused the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Uddhav Thackeray of deliberately stoking a “Marathi versus non-Marathi” narrative during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Fadnavis said such politics stood in contrast to his government’s development-oriented agenda, emphasising that while Marathi was his language, progress and development for the Marathi community were equally important.

On the issue of Hindutva, the Chief Minister said it remained the ideological core of the BJP and was never used merely as an election slogan. He criticised political rivals for distancing themselves from Hindutva for vote-bank considerations and said they owed an explanation to the public for misleading Marathi identity sentiments.

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The remarks come ahead of civic polls across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the BMC. Voting for the BMC elections is scheduled for January 15 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm across 227 wards, with counting set to take place on January 16.