Diwali Reunion Sparks Alliance Speculation As Thackeray Clan Comes Together To Celebrate

Last Updated:October 18, 2025, 09:48 IST

Uddhav and his family took part in 'Deepotsav', an annual event organised by the MNS, at central Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Friday.

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's families seen together at the 'Deepotsav' event in Mumbai's Shivaji Park. (Credit: Instagram)

The families of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj Thackeray reunited on Friday for a Diwali event, which fuelled the buzz around their political alliance in Maharashtra ahead of the Mumbai civic polls.

Uddhav and his family took part in ‘Deepotsav’, an annual event organised by the MNS, at central Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. The event was symbolic as both Uddhav and Raj Thackeray arrived at the venue in the same car in full media glare.

Uddhav’s son Aaditya and Raj’s son Amit arrived in another car, while Uddhav’s younger son Tejas and Raj’s younger daughter Urvashi were seen in the rear seat of the vehicle. Uddhav Thackeray’s wife, Rashmi and Raj’s spouse, Sharmila, arrived in another car to take part in the event.

“Today’s Diwali is special. The unity of Marathi manoos and its light will bring happiness in everyone’s lives," Uddhav said at the event.

Amit Thackeray shared pictures of the event on Instagram, saying, “Moment of happiness, festival of relationships. Happy Diwali to all from Thackeray family!"

This was the seventh time – third in October – that the Thackeray cousins have met since July 5. The two leaders attended the “naamkaran" ceremony of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s grandchild in Mumbai previously.

Later, in an unannounced development, Raj drove to Uddhav’s residence, Matoshree, and held a closed-door meeting with his brother. According to sources, the meeting, which lasted for nearly 40 minutes, was entirely private and confidential. No prior schedule had been made public, and the visit came as a complete surprise—even to senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders.

The meetings between Raj and Uddhav have become more frequent after their joint July 5 “victory" rally to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s rollback of its contentious orders on the three-language formula for students of classes 1 to 5 amid charges of imposition of Hindi in the state dominated by Marathi speakers.

Although Raj quit the undivided Shiv Sena in 2005, blaming Uddhav for his exit, the drubbing of their parties in the 2024 assembly polls appears to have pushed the rivals to improve ties. Both parties have dropped enough hints of forging an alliance for the upcoming polls to local bodies, including the BMC, although they are yet to announce a formal tie-up.

News politics Diwali Reunion Sparks Alliance Speculation As Thackeray Clan Comes Together To Celebrate

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