Mumbai

Cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray reuniting after 20 years, ahead of next month's civic polls, the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government consolidating its grip on power, boosted by its performance in local elections, and attempts at opposition realignment marked the year in Maharashtra.

Twenty years after a bitter Raj Thackeray quit the undivided Shiv Sena over differences with Uddhav Thackeray and formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the cousins on December 24 announced their alliance for the high-stakes Mumbai municipal corporation elections due on January 15, along with 28 other civic corporations.

The BJP-led government, which completed one year in office on December 5 after its emphatic victory in the November 2024 assembly elections, largely maintained stability despite controversies, defections and periodic friction among alliance partners Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The ruling alliance bagged 207 posts of municipal presidents and 4,422 seats in the municipal council and nagar panchayat polls held in December, while the poor showing of the Opposition reflected its organisational weaknesses.

The year began on a turbulent note with the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in December last year sending political shockwaves across the state.

The subsequent resignation of NCP leader Dhananjay Munde from the state ministry, following the arrest of his close aide and prime accused Walmik Karad in the sarpanch murder case, put the government on the defensive over the law-and-order situation.

Another flashpoint emerged over the state government’s decision to make Hindi mandatory from Class 1, citing the National Education Policy. Facing widespread protests, the government rolled back the decision and announced a committee headed by economist Narendra Jadhav to examine implementation of the three-language formula.

Despite these setbacks, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, continued to assert its dominance.

During the year, as many as 43 runner-up candidates in last year’s assembly polls from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) crossed over to the ruling camp, further weakening the opposition and strengthening Mahayuti’s hold across constituencies.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the assembly with 132 seats, its highest-ever tally in Maharashtra, while allies Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats respectively, giving the coalition a commanding 235 seats in the 288-member legislative assembly.

For the MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar), 2025 was largely a year of recovery after the major setback in the assembly polls last year.

The MVA struggled to project cohesion even as it attempted to capitalise on controversies involving the government.

A notable political moment came when estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray shared a platform during protests against the Hindi language decision, the development widely seen as a tactical move for political survival.

Raj Thackeray later joined an opposition protest against the Election Commission over alleged “vote theft”.

However, the Congress kept its distance from the MNS, citing the latter’s anti-migrant rhetoric and inconsistent political positions.

The year also witnessed communal tensions in Nagpur in March, following demands by right-wing groups over the removal of a structure linked to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The clashes, which left one person dead, drew sharp criticism from the opposition over alleged policing lapses.

Caste-based mobilisation returned to the forefront as Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil launched another statewide agitation, including a hunger strike in Mumbai. The government’s move to implement the Hyderabad Gazette, enabling Kunbi certificates for eligible Marathas, was criticised by OBC groups as an encroachment on their rights.

The Mahayuti government focused on welfare schemes that had contributed to its electoral success, particularly the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, which provides direct cash transfers to women.

The opposition, however, accused the government of failing to fulfil promises such as raising the monthly assistance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 and implementing a farm loan waiver.

Tensions within the ruling alliance surfaced repeatedly. Shiv Sena ministers briefly boycotted a Cabinet meeting in November, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to rush to Delhi for consultations with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Friction also arose over the appointment of NCP leader Nawab Malik to a civic poll-related post and over seat-sharing for the municipal elections.

On the economic front, the government projected confidence, with Chief Minister Fadnavis reiterating the goal of making Maharashtra a trillion-dollar economy.

The state recorded Rs 1.64 lakh crore in FDI in 2024-25, a 32 per cent increase over the previous year, which the government described as the highest inflow in a decade.

As 2025 drew to a close, the focus shifted to the long-pending local body elections, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, widely regarded as Asia’s richest civic body.

Congress announced it would contest the BMC polls independently, while Shiv Sena (UBT) signalled a preference for new faces after many of its corporators defected.

Speculation over a possible Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance for civic polls added another layer of intrigue to Maharashtra’s fractured political landscape. The two parties finally announced their alliance on December 24.

In July, a video capturing Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad assaulting a staff of the MLA canteen in Mumbai for serving him ‘stale’ food went viral, drawing criticism from both the ruling party as well the Opposition.

Fadnavis condemned the action and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde issued a warning to the Buldhana MLA who belongs to his party.

In December, the Supreme Court granted partial relief to NCP MLA and former minister Manikrao Kokate, staying his conviction in a cheating and fraud case though only to the extent that it will not lead to his disqualification from the legislative assembly.

Kokate had approached the top court after the Bombay high court suspended his two-year jail sentence but refused to stay his conviction.

He had petitioned the high court after a Nashik sessions court upheld the trial court’s February judgment convicting him and his brother in a fraud case dating back to 1995.

The trial court found Kokate and his brother, Vijay, guilty of misusing a government housing scheme meant for economically weaker sections.

The scheme, which operated between 1989 and 1992, was applicable only to those earning up to Rs 30,000 a year. The brothers were accused of submitting false affidavits to understate their income and were illegally allotted two government flats.

In July, a video of Shiv Sena MLA and state minister Sanjay Shirsat, sitting in a room along with a partially opened bag containing what looked like bundles of notes went viral.

The video surfaced a day after reports emerged of the minister facing scrutiny by the Income Tax Department for a significant increase in his declared assets from Rs 3.3 crore in 2019 to Rs 35 crore in 2024.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab in July demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam, alleging that a dance bar in Kandivali was being operated under a licence held by his mother.

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In an apparent damage-control step, Kadam’s family surrendered the licence of the Kandivali bar.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker and veteran Congress leader Shivraj Patil and former Maharashtra ministers Shalinitai Patil and Surupsinh Naik passed away during the year.