From ‘We’ Factor To ‘Me’ Factor: Uddhav Thackeray Admits MVA’s Own Faults Led To Assembly Drubbing

Last Updated:July 19, 2025, 15:38 IST

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said the alliance’s biggest failure was its inability to take its work and message directly to the people of Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray accepted that EC’s “technical issues” aside, the alliance’s own lack of discipline and timing played a bigger part. (PTI)

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, in a candid interview with party MP Sanjay Raut, has opened up on why the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) lost its grip over Maharashtra in the recent assembly elections, despite claiming public goodwill and a record of crisis management.

Thackeray did not hold back from admitting that the alliance’s biggest failure was its inability to take its work and message directly to the people of Maharashtra. “We didn’t tell them our story well enough," Thackeray said. According to him, the MVA—comprising the Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP)—squandered the advantage it had built during the Lok Sabha polls because of infighting and poor seat coordination.

“In the Lok Sabha polls, there was a ‘We’ factor—everyone worked like one team. But for the assembly, it became a ‘Me’ fight inside the alliance. There was so much tug-of-war over constituencies that we lost precious time," he confessed.

He revealed that during the Lok Sabha campaign, he had the final list of candidates well in advance, which allowed him to hit the ground early. But for the assembly, the MVA leaders were still arguing over seats till the last minute. “By the time we finalised the seat sharing, we could not even finalise candidates in time. That was our biggest mistake," Thackeray said.

Thackeray said while the ruling side—the BJP and Eknath Shinde faction—pumped in money and launched schemes like the Ladki Bahin, the MVA found itself distracted. Thackeray admitted that instead of highlighting what their government had achieved—such as handling Covid-19, waiving farm loans, and maintaining law and order—they “fell into the trap of announcing counter-schemes, which never connected with voters". He added that during the pandemic, Maharashtra managed the crisis far better—but failed to remind people about this when it mattered most. “We ran a government when the Centre barely supported us. But we couldn’t communicate that strongly enough," he said.

Thackeray also questioned the fairness of the election process, pointing to allegations of EVM manipulation, suspicious voter lists, and how people in rural areas felt betrayed when the results came out. He said even Rahul Gandhi raised questions about how the numbers didn’t match the ground mood.

Thackeray’s EC allegation, however, has been refuted by the poll body itself, which said “facts are completely being ignored".

“Unsubstantiated allegations raised against the Electoral Rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law. The Election Commission had brought out all these facts in its reply to the INC on 24th December 2024 itself, which is available on ECI’s website. It appears that all these facts are being completely ignored while raising such issues again and again," the ECI said.

Adding to its rebuttal, the ECI further said that such actions not only show “a complete disregard for the law," but also undermine the integrity of thousands of party-appointed representatives and demoralise the lakhs of election officials who, it said, “work untiringly and transparently during elections."

“After any unfavourable verdict by the voters, trying to defame the Election Commission by saying that it is compromised, is completely absurd," stated the poll body.

Thackeray, in his interview, accepted that EC’s “technical issues" aside, the alliance’s own lack of discipline and timing played a bigger part. “If we are going to repeat the same mistakes, there is no point coming together again," he said firmly.

Despite losing the traditional party name and symbol to the Shinde faction, Thackeray claimed the ‘Thackeray brand’ still holds weight because, unlike “inflated balloons," his family’s connection with Maharashtra’s people is rooted in honesty and Hindutva. He took a dig at the BJP, accusing it of using divide-and-rule, defection politics and misuse of laws to stay in power. “People who have no identity left us. But the real Shiv Sainiks, the roots, are still strong," he said.

Thackeray’s contention of being the “real" Sena has been contested by Shinde who has earlier taken a dig at the former chief minister for his faction’s performance in the November assembly polls.

“We contested 80 seats and won 60 seats. This victory is spectacular. Now tell me whose Shiv Sena is real. People have given their verdict on which Shiv Sena is the real one," Shinde said.

News politics From ‘We’ Factor To ‘Me’ Factor: Uddhav Thackeray Admits MVA’s Own Faults Led To Assembly Drubbing